


Number 16

by YourFutureWillBeBeautiful



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Aged up Han Jisung, Aged up Lee Minho, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bullying, Completed, Dad!Changbin, Drunken flirtiness, Duel narrators, Everyone wants Lino are we surprised, FLUFF THEN ANGST THEN FLUFF THEN ANGST, Family Dynamics, Fluff and Humor, Han Jisung | Han-centric, Happy Ending, Implied Sexual Content, Jisung big bi energy, Lee Minho | Lee Know-centric, Little!Felix, Little!Felix is obsessed with arts and crafts :( i'm sad, M/M, Mentions of Aged up Chan, Mentions of Aged up Hyunjin, Minbinsung love triangle drama, Past!MinBin, Relationship Resolutions, Seungmin and Jisung myday presidents even when they're 20 years apart in age, Some discussions about gendernorms, Some of SKZ as Kids UWU, Strangers to Lovers, Unrequited Love, chapter 18 is super angsty, dad!Minho, dad!jisung, little!jeongin, little!seungmin, minsung - Freeform, new neighbours, smug changbin do be my weakness tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:46:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 26
Words: 87,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25619080
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourFutureWillBeBeautiful/pseuds/YourFutureWillBeBeautiful
Summary: Minho becomes somewhat enamoured with his guitar-playing, muscle-shirt wearing new neighbour from across the street at number 16.Or, a shameless, strangers-to-lovers, aged up, parents!minsung fic where Jisung, a single Dad, meets Minho, also a single Dad.Russian Translation, here!Thank you to AO3 Sweet_toffy/Kise-chin!
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Past!Lee Minho | Seo Changbin
Comments: 645
Kudos: 1196





	1. Two Households, Both Alike In Dignity

**Author's Note:**

> Here lies a totally self-indulgent, strangers-to-lovers, minsung!parents fic, but they meet as new neighbours, and they're single dads from previous relationships. 
> 
> This fic is age-bent, meaning Felix is Jisung's son(!) and Seungmin and Jeongin are Minho's/Changbin's sons(!!) They all have their own little arcs and it's kinda (ಥ﹏ಥ) 
> 
> This has probably been done 94385 times before but I'm feeling fluffy as heck and honestly I have no idea where i'm going with it whatsoever so it might be a mess. I felt a bit sad/empty since finishing my last slow burn so here we are straight outta the gate with a new one.
> 
> I've rated it teen for later chapters; there will be some implied sexual content but nothing described
> 
> Updates will be every Wednesday and Sunday, as these are my days off of work!

**Saturday, 9:17am** 🐱---

"Hurry up Dad!" Jeongin said, tapping his little feet up and down, crashing them against one of the steps he was sitting on with a little pouty-frown across his face. Seungmin sighed at him as he continued to play whatever game he was engrossed in on his phone, tapping at the screen.

Minho came out, two baseball kit bags in hand, two blue lunchboxes and a tiny _Avengers_ rucksack slung over his shoulder.

"I _fail to see_ how you two are going to play baseball and have lunch today without your baseball kits or lunches…" Minho huffed, tutting at them before shoving his keys in the door to lock it behind him, struggling with the load in his arms.

As he made his way down his drive, he saw Ms. Park, his glamorous, bleach-blonde neighbour outside on her front porch with a cigarette in her hand, leaning over her fence. She was wearing a loose-fitting summer animal-print dress and large sunglasses to probably hide her wine-induced hangover eyes. He could see she was wearing a bright red lipstick, which was slightly unusual pre-9:30am... In fact, Minho wasn't sure he'd ever seen her open her curtains before 1:00pm on any given day. She was more of a ‘night person’.

"Good morning, Ms. Park! Great weather out today!" He said to her, waving as he escorted Jeongin down the front porch steps and across the lawn, Seungmin following closely behind, still focused on his phone.

"Morning, Mr. Lee" She responded enthusiastically. "Why yes, isn’t it? Isn't it, _rather hot_ outside today?" She slipped her sunglasses down, a teasing grin on her face. "Definitely _my type_ of weather..." Minho saw her flick her head and eyes a little to the left-hand side, forcing Minho to look to see what she was pointing to, slightly bewildered.

There was a small-ish moving van pulled up outside of her house. She was number 14, so he assumed it was for number 16, which had been ' _For Sale'_ for quite some time now; at least six months. Both of the back doors of the truck were open, and Minho could see flat-packed furniture inside it. There was also a little purple-blue, galaxy patterned, bicycle propped up against the gate with a tiny white basket mounted on the front.

Suddenly, something, or _someone_ , caught his attention, forcing him to stop in his tracks, Seungmin bumbling into the back of him with a little _“oof”_ as he was so focused on his game to notice him stop.

There was a man carrying one of the boxes in both hands, walking up to his front door. From his back, Minho could see that he was maybe a little shorter than him, with dark brown, long-ish, dark hair, half-hidden with a black cap. He was wearing a white, loose-fitting muscle shirt, showing off his arms and some of the side of his rib-cage.

Minho felt his throat become a _little drier than normal_ as he blinked himself back into reality. It was a while before this street had a new resident, but he honestly wouldn't complain if he got to see those arms on a daily basis… 

He looked back to Ms. Park, who started fanning herself frantically with her hand, rolling her eyes backwards. From her side of the street, she could probably see him from the front. She was totally shameless, and it made him laugh a little at how audacious she was.

Minho thought to himself that the boys would probably be late for Club if he didn't get a move on; they were already fifteen minutes behind schedule. He'd have to admire from afar and get back to her with his 'ranking' later on...

They piled into the silver _'Dad Wag'_ , Minho leaning back across them to make sure both boys were in their car seats and strapped in. He reversed out backwards, looking back over his shoulder as he saw the new neighbour again, _this time from the front_ , re-appearing from his front door. Luckily, there was nothing behind him, because he nearly forgot how to drive at just the sight of him.

 **8:23am** 🐿️---

Jisung drove up to his designated street, slapping his hands on the steering wheel in time to the music, feeling pretty invincible up so high in the moving truck.

He'd been so excited to move in for months now, and it was _finally_ moving in day.

The only niggling thing on his mind was that he wished Felix could come with him, but it was inconveniently his Mom's weekend to have him.

Plus, she insisted it was too dangerous to have an 8-year-old in an 'empty, dirty, old house'...

Not that tiny Felix would be able to help in _any kind of way_ , but he always missed his presence when he wasn't there.

He was such a bundle of energy and he could imagine how excited Felix would be to see his new room, thinking about which drawings of what mythical creatures he could cover the walls with.

Jisung pulled up to the house numbered **'** 16', a large grin appearing across his face as he did.

He could see his next-door neighbour, a slightly older woman, peering out of her window at him from just behind her curtain.

She didn't look particularly subtle at about the fact that she was watching him, but Jisung thought that in a little cul-de-sac like this one, new neighbours were probably a rarity.

Plus, his van was probably blocking a part of her drive.

That was probably why she was focused on him so intently.

He started unloading the truck, peeling his zip-up jacket off, as it was _far too hot_ outside to be lifting boxes in 85° heat.

He tossed it aside on the grown-out, dandelion-infused grass, and pulled Felix's bike out of the back, as it was the last thing they packed.

Felix had insisted on riding it as much as possible now that he had learnt to ride with _'only one hand!'_

He propped it up beside the fence.

As he brought the furniture in, he wandered through the hallway.

Everything was so beige, neutral, and _boring_ , a little too boring for him and Felix.

He thought he would definitely have to repaint and mount a few pictures, or something.

The first door to the left was the living room, which had some navy-blue decor on the boarding of the wallpaper, but it was still overwhelmingly dull.

Then at the top was the most bog-standard, off-white, poor-paintjob kitchenette he’d ever seen.

He headed upstairs with more boxes, jostling some of the larger packages.

He came to a small, pale yellow box room with some left-over Looney Tunes border; the paper barely hanging on to the wall.

He'd assumed it had been a nursery, before.

This little room would be Felix’s', and the teal-ish colored larger room with the ensuite next door would be Jisung's, as soon as he could get someone out to fix the plumbing.

He felt a sense of relief as he headed back outside, smiling just knowing that the house would be his and Felix' to make as many memories as they wanted.

It was the first house he'd managed to afford on his own, and it made him feel accomplished, even though it clearly needed a lot of work.

He could see across the road there was a little greyish-silver Hyundai Tucson pulled up at the curb.

It was probably the neighbour at either 13, or 15, more than likely.

He also saw two young boys, probably no older than Felix, meandering out on the front steps.

One of them was kicking his little Converse high-tops up and down on the steps as he sat. His almost-black hair adorably tousled and almost covering his eyes.

He could hear them whinging for someone to hurry up.

Jisung smiled at the sight of them, thinking it would be great for Felix to be able to make friends his age on his own street.

He saw a man scramble out of the doorway, with arms full of bags, totally flustered with his hair sticking up at the back.

From beside him, he could see his new older, female neighbour had oozed out of her front door in some kind of kaftan, or leopard-print dressing gown, or whatever it was called.

She was leaning kinda _weirdly_ over her gate, peering at him from time-to-time, but not directly enough for Jisung to be able to initiate some kind of formal greeting.

It was, _bizarre_ , to say the least, so he shrugged it off and continued to bring the boxes in, trying to avoid her.

As he came back out, he clocked the driver in the Hyundai backing out of his driveway, who swerved a little as he came out.

Probably one of the boys distracting him in the back.

Jisung could relate.

Felix would often distract him in the car.

 **10:39am** 🐱---

As Minho dropped the boys off, he decided to do a small food shop, and buy a new exercise mat, more dumbbells and set of resistance bands. He'd probably do a home workout now that the boys were at their day club.

Every other Saturday from 10:00am to 4:00pm were _'his time'_ , but it mostly consisted of cleaning up after the boys and preparing food, anyway… He'd even bought two new _'erotic novels'_ on a spontaneous whim around three months ago, not that anyone knew; thinking it might inject some ' _spice_ ' into his life. Honestly, he hadn't even read them yet and he felt a bit embarrassed to do so, anyway.

He sighed at how ridiculously mundane his life had become…

As he pulled back into the street, he noticed that the 'For Sale' sign out the front of 16 was lying flat on the pavement, and the moving van from earlier had gone. He parked up outside his dropped curb, attempting to grab _all_ of the bags from the back of the car in _one trip_ , which was pretty delusional by any means. He shoved his keys in his mouth and tried to grab as many of them as he could in his arms.

"Do you need a hand?" an energised voice shouted from across the road.

Minho turned around to see the new neighbour bounding forward towards him, offering to help him almost immediately.

"Oh, no, it's fine, honestly, I’ve got it." Minho replied, mumbling with his keys in between his teeth and shaking his head in embarrassment.

The neighbour’s arms were fully _on show_ still, and Minho had to stifle his own breathing for a moment, because it was suddenly _much harder_ to breathe than it was before... The neighbour grabbed at a couple of the bags from the back, and Minho became strangely embarrassed about how messy the trunk of his car was.

"Wow, what do you have in here? _Weights?"_ The neighbour replied with a bewildered look on his face as he lifted a few of the bags out with a bit of a struggle.

"Oh... Actually, that's _exactly_ what I have in there." Minho replied, laughing a little at the absurdity of it all. "Literal, weights."

“You work out?” Jisung said, intrigued, cocking his head a little to the side.

Minho suddenly cringed, he _seriously_ hoped his new neighbour wasn’t one of these _dudes_ that worked out all the time, though it would explain the _rather obnoxious_ muscle shirt he was wearing…

“Only at home really. I have two kids so finding any time to do anything is pretty difficult, these days!” Minho sighed, punctuating the end of his sentence with a little laugh as soon as he realised how pitiful it sounded.

The neighbour helped him to the door with his bags and Minho placed them inside his hallway, turning back to him.

"Thanks for helping me, you didn’t have to."

"Honestly it's no problem. I'm Jisung, by the way; Han Jisung. I live at number 16. I just moved in today." He looked back across to his house then back. He put his hand out to him, and Minho shook it in return.

"Minho, Lee Minho. I live, well, _here_." He pointed inside the hallway and rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Not to be totally weird or anything, but do you know anywhere good around here to take an 8-year-old to eat? You said you have kids, and I saw that you had, two sons?” He questioned. “So, I thought you might know. Not to be like, creepy or anything!" Jisung laughed defensively, smiling brightly. Minho couldn’t help but notice how much softer his face was compared to his rather muscular physique.

"Oh. Yes, I do, I have two sons. Um, there's an American-style diner about twenty minutes down the main road if your kid likes that kind of thing." Minho responded.

"Perfect. He loves western food. Thanks!"

Minho made a mental note of the fact that the neighbour, _Jisung_ , had a little boy around his kids age. He thought back to the little purple-blue bike with the tiny white basket he saw outside the house earlier, that was likely whose it was.

He thought it would be great for Jeongin and Seungmin to be able to make friends their age on their own street. The rest of the street consisted of young couples that partied too hard and horny cougars that had lived there since the dinosaurs roamed.

"No problem, thanks for helping me with these."

"Not at all! No worries!"

Minho looked around self-consciously as the exchange came to an end, he smacked his lips together and looked towards Jisung who just smiled at him, his cheeks puffing up with a wide, boxy grin.

"Well, _anyway_ , hopefully our boys can meet some time!" Jisung said, turning foot to head off down the path with a little wave. “It was nice to meet you!”


	2. The Course Of True Love Never Did Run Smooth

**Monday, 7:24am** 🐱---

Minho didn't see his attractive new neighbour for a bit, as he had builders and workmen in and out of the place whilst he tried to get the place in order.

It was early, no earlier than 7:30am. Minho had his burgundy robe on, trying to get the boys ready for school as he always did, rushing around trying to prepare the lunches that he'd forgotten to make last night. Then, he tapped the side of the cat food tin to try and gather the feline horde. He scraped the _'meat in jelly chunks'_ in to three separate bowls as he looked down at the _two_ sets of big, round eyes looking up at him from the floor. He sighed.

He went outside to the front lawn. Strangely, he could hear someone outside, singing. It sounded light and airy, like a gentle falsetto. He noticed that outside on his front porch, acoustic guitar in hand, was his new neighbour, Jisung. He was slightly illuminated by the early morning sun as he could hear the soft, pitch-perfect buzz of Jisung’s heavenly voice.

Minho also noticed that all of his older female neighbours were swooning out of their windows like wrinkly Rapunzels, too...

"Dori!" Ppsss! Come on! Food!" He called out, tapping on the can with a fork. Dori hadn't come back for nearly an entire day, which wasn't unusual, but it did piss him off that she just _waltzed back in whenever she pleased_ and ate the other cats' food from their own dishes. Honestly, his house felt like a cat motel some days.

Little Jeongin stumbled out after him, grabbing on to his leg from behind, mimicking his calls, shouting 'Dori cat! Come here, Dori cat!' Which startled him. Suddenly Jeongin looked around, a little smile starting to form across his face in realisation.

"Is someone singing?" he asked excitedly, clapping his little hands together.

Minho turned around, peeled him off of his leg and lifted him up from under both of his armpits. He shimmied him around to perch him on his hip before facing him in the direction of Number 16. Minho looked across at Jisung to show Jeongin who was singing, standing just tall enough to _maybe_ catch his eye. Jeongin was a little heavy, and probably too old to be carried around, but Minho thought that the excited 7-year-old might just grab the other man’s attention…

He watched as Jisung got up, swinging the guitar around his back casually. As he went to walk back inside, brushing his knees off, he clocked Minho from across the street.

"Good morning!" Minho called out with a smile, secretly happy that he’d caught his interest.

"Ah, Minho! Good morning! Jisung said, giving him a little wave back. He stopped in his tracks and headed back down his front lawn. "Sorry, I wasn't ignoring you; I didn't realise you were there!" Jisung started lightly jogging across the road to his side. Minho wasn't actually expecting him to come so close, he'd literally just gotten out of bed and his hair was a mess. Even his _eye bags_ had _bags_.

"No worries! I'm just trying to summon my demon cat from the underworld." He sighed. He turned his attention to Jeongin, who was shying away a bit into his shoulder, nibbling at his lip anxiously as he looked at the stranger. "Jeongin, say hello to Mr. Han. He is our new neighbour." Minho placed him down in front of him, pushing him forward a tad, secretly happy to relieve the stress on his back.

"H-hello..." he said, nervously. He bowed his head to the older stranger before moving his hand back to his mouth.

"Well, hi there, Jeongin." Jisung leaned lightly against Minho's fence, ducking down to meet him a little. "How old are you?"

Jeongin looked up at him, then suddenly toddled back around behind Minho, embarrassed, ducking his head behind his leg and gripping at the bottom of his robe with little grabby hands.

"Jeongin... Don't be like this when someone older asks you a question... Sorry about this. He's just turned 7. He's a little shy." Minho cradled his head in his palm from behind him, looking back to him in adoration.

"Ah, it's okay!” He said softly, he came just a little closer, kneeling down to somewhat meet Jeongin's level. "Well Jeongin; I have a son too. His name is Felix, he's 8. Maybe you could be friends with him?"

Jeongin peeked his head out from behind Minho's legs inquisitively at the suggestion, with a little pout on his face. He looked back up to Minho with big sparkly eyes, then back to Jisung, nodding at him without saying a word. 

"I'm sure Jeongin would really like that! I have another son, Seungmin, who's 9, too. Though, you might not see him outside as much..."

"Ah, the one on the phone?" Jisung asked.

"The very same."

"Felix will be so happy. He's never had new neighbours his own age before." Jisung said. He fiddled a little with the guitar on his back to ensure it didn't scrape along the pavement as he was kneeling. "Do you want to play with this, Jeongin?" Jisung questioned, gesturing at it. He’d obviously noticed that Jeongin had been glancing at it for a while.

Jeongin shook his head from side to side at the question, not wanting to take the guitar from the stranger.

"--Sorry, Jeongin really loves music. He is learning to play the piano. Both of my boys love music, I don't know where they get it from, honestly…." Minho said.

Minho thought that Jisung wasn't particularly making much headway with him, but he appreciated the gesture, regardless. Jeongin was acutely intimidated by strangers, unlike Seungmin, who would literally talk to anyone almost immediately about any topic under the sun. 

"Well, when Felix is here Jeongin, he can play some guitar with you and maybe you can play some piano for him? He usually lives here with me, most days." Jisung said. He looked back up to Minho, snapping back in to _'adult voice'_. "His Mom gets him on alternative weekends."

_Damn it._

Minho cursed internally, sighing to the sexual orientation Gods for tempting him so horrifically with this Adonis, before cursing him with heterosexuality. Giveth, and swiftly taketh away…

"Ah, small world. It's just me here too. My partner and I are divorced." Minho replied, a little deflated at Jisung’s previous comment, not that he had his hopes too high, anyway.

"Well, the course of true love never did run smooth." Jisung said dramatically, laughing a little after.

"You said 'Felix', is that a _Western_ name?"

"Oh yeah, me and his Mom both studied abroad so we both speak English. We did speak Korean at home, but he's much more nervous when speaking Korean than when he speaks English. It's a little hard for him to express himself in Korean." Jisung explained. 

"He's still young though, so it should be an easy transition. Did you move here _with_ his Mom?" Minho asked, Jeongin still clutching on to his shirt, failing to keep up with the confusing ‘grown up’ conversation.

"Yep, we moved back to Korea together. Hopefully, Felix can make some friends here soon. It shouldn’t be hard. Not to boast, but he’s super cute, if I do say so myself!” Jisung’s humble brag about his boy sparked a strange sense of pride in Minho, like he could relate. He didn’t know any other Dads around his age, so he felt a strange connection between them.

"Does his Mom still live here?" Minho pried, delving a little further. He’d secretly promised his cougar friends from across the street that he'd find out if Jisung was single. To be honest, it piqued his own personal interests, too; though a little _less_ now that he found out he had an ex-Wife...

"She lives probably like an hour’s drive away, but we broke up about eight, nine months ago. We were actually still living together until Lix and I moved here. Honestly, it was _awful_..." Jisung scoffed, crossing his arms and grimacing.

"Oh, I'm _sure_ I can relate..." Minho retorted, equally as sarcastically.

"Yeah? You said you're single too? Guess we're the _Lonely Guys Club_ on the block, huh?" Jisung joked, loosening his arms from across his chest and nudging him in the side with his elbow.

"Oh, yeah. I got divorced around three years ago. We wanted different things, I guess.”

"Ah. I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out between you and her."

"Oh, _trust me;_ it’s better this way, and he's a ' _He_ '. My ex- _husband_ is a _guy_."

Minho watched as Jisung’s face screwed up in confusion for a moment, almost comically so; as a wave of horror swept across him at just _how badly_ he'd assumed Minho's sexuality.

"He? Oh... _Oh!_ Oh! I'm so sorry. I shouldn't- Sorry! I shouldn't assume those kinds of things. I'm _totally_ not like that at all, I promise. I'm actually _super open-minded_. I don't know why I said that I honestly didn't-

"-It's okay. It's okay, you don't have to worry. I get that a lot around here." Minho said through a stifled laugh. He wasn't mad _per se,_ because it was definitely true. He certainly got a lot of attention from the legions of _baseball-Moms_ before they found out his inclinations.

"I'm serious, I think it's great, actually!" Jisung squealed in a frenzy, nodding his head.

Minho laughed at how panicked he'd become; he was really charming. His ears had gone bright red and he was kind of just making it worse for himself. Never once had anyone referred to his sexuality as _‘great, actually!’_

"I mean it, it's honestly okay. Don’t worry about it." Minho giggled.

"I kinda thought judging on how all the neighbourhood Moms _ogle you_ from out of the windows, that you might've been--“

"--Ogle _me_?! Not in the slightest, I'm afraid. Plus, since _you_ moved in, I don't think anyone’s been ogling anyone else..." Minho responded, looking around, pointing at the various eyes that were firmly attached to them. Most of which, swiftly pulled back from their curtains like vampires that had just seen the morning sun for the first time in 200 years.

Jisung laughed at his comment, justifiably embarrassed. The realisation also suddenly hit Minho that he _might have_ just referred to Jisung as _attractive_. It was subtle though, so he just acted natural, like he hadn't said anything at all…

“Anyway, Felix is being dropped off today. He starts school on Wednesday and he’s excited to move into his new room. Maybe we can arrange a time for the boys to meet after school if you’re free?” Jisung asked, looking back at Jeongin, then back to Minho.

“Totally! I’d love- I mean, I’m sure _the boys_ would love that.” Minho placed both of his arms around behind him to cradle little Jeongin’s head in his palms again. He almost forgot that they were talking about the kids, he’d become so lost in how big and dark Jisung’s eyes were.

“Awesome. Well, I have to pick Felix up by 9:00am; I’ll see you later Jeongin!” Jisung said enthusiastically, leaning around a little to try and catch his attention with a goodbye wave.

“The boys go to after school club, so I’ll- _we’ll_ be home, later on, probably around 6:00pm. Is that too late?” Minho asked.

“Not at all! Felix usually gets to sleep at 9:00ish, he’s way too hyperactive.” Jisung retorted. Minho blinked at him in disbelief. He felt _80_ , he’d probably _implode_ if his boys insisted on staying up that late…

“Goodbye Jeongin. I’ll catch you later, Minho.” Jisung said with _a wink_ , before he turned around to head back to his own lawn. So, here Minho was, gawping at a seemingly straight man, suddenly excited for a _kids’ play date_. His life really was extraordinarily mundane… 

And he still hadn’t found his demon cat. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We only know slow burns in this house 😇


	3. O Thou, My Lovely Boy

**Monday, 17:32pm** **🐱---**

It was still hot out, the sun just starting to set across the street, casting everything in a slight pink blush as Minho drove home from picking Jeongin and Seungmin up from after-school club, post work. Changbin had decided to 'stop off' at the school and offer to spontaneously take Seungmin to a baseball game, and he was so excited to spend time with him that Minho couldn't refuse. Even though it was totally against the plans they had in place...

Jisung was sitting outside on his white veranda steps with a little blonde boy as Minho pulled up from the driveway. He was so _tiny_ , sitting with his legs pushed together on the steps of their front steps, engulfed in a large yellow t-shirt that almost covered his knees and some little blue shorts. Jisung was playing his guitar, as per usual, as the little boy watched him, occasionally moving his fingers on the fret-board.

Minho helped Jeongin out of his car seat, then his fox plush; who Jeongin _insisted_ needed his own space in the car now that Seungmin wasn't preoccupying it... Jisung noticed them pull in, giving him a little wave from across the road. The little blonde boy next to him suddenly lit up, all of his teeth on show, looking back to his Dad in excitement, tapping at his knee.

"Minho! Hey!" Jisung called out.

"Hey!" He shouted back across, before leaning down to speak to Jeongin. "Felix is going to start at your school on Wednesday, Jeongin. Let’s go over and meet him, okay?" He placed both hands on his shoulders, dipping a little to meet his eyes.

"O-okay, okay then..." Jeongin replied anxiously. He put his hand up in front of him as if to tell Minho to take it. Minho slipped his hand around Jeongin’s tiny one as he led him over the street, fox plush dragging behind him. Minho noticed that Jisung's front yard looked much more tamed than this morning, he must have been busy today.

"Well hey there Jeongin, remember me?" Jisung said, waving at him as they approached.

"Yes, hello Mr. Han." he said, bowing to the man.

The other little boy looked back to Jisung and started pulling at his t-shirt sleeve incessantly. He was repeating " _Can I? Can I? Can I?"_ Over and over again.

"Go on then Felix, say hi!" Jisung said, gesturing to Jeongin, who shied away just a little bit, grabbing at his fox toy a little tighter.

The blonde boy suddenly bounced up to his feet, jumping down one-by-one to the bottom step before taking a deep breath.

"Hello, I'm Felix! I am 8 years old. It's nice to meet you. I live at house number 16. I hope we can be good neighbours!" The little freckled boy said, so eagerly. It almost sounded a little bit _rehearsed_ , and Minho internally cooed at the notion that he might have actually _practised_ meeting Jeongin beforehand. The idea of Jisung sweetly helping him to write out his words made his heart flutter...

"Hello Felix. I'm-Jeo... I mean, _my name is_ Jeongin. It’s nice to meet you." Jeongin bowed to him, and Felix followed. "My house is number 13…" Jeongin said looking back to Minho nervously. He stopped, then looked back to Felix suddenly remembering his age, "…Oh and I am 7 years old."

"Oh! I am older, then. I can be your a-little-bit-older friend." Felix said, pointing to his own chest and nodding.

"Okay then." Jeongin pulled his little fox plush close to his chest in a timid, little hug.

"That is a nice fox friend. What is their name?" Felix asked.

"…Foximus."

"Wow, that’s a great name! I like that name. Come with me Jeongin, I will find you a wand." Felix immediately grabbed him by the hand and toddled off to a small assortment of firewood and kindling that was in a pile at the back of Jisung's front lawn in a metal dustbin, presumably for a wood burner.

Just like that, Jeongin had a friend…

"Well, they seem to be hitting it off!" Jisung laughed, waltzing down his front steps into the sunshine, shoving his hands in his back jeans’ pockets casually. His skin was glowing and tanned against the white over-sized t-shirt he was wearing.

"It's so easy for kids, eh? They don't have the burdens of life to carry…" Minho said dryly, watching the boys play around with the kindling.

" _Woah_ , that got deep. Something on your mind?!" Jisung laughed. Suddenly Minho snapped back to him, he was a little spaced out.

"Pah. Sorry no, I was just kind of joking!" Minho said, realising that most people weren’t used to his deflating sense of humour.

"Fancy a beer, it's nice out?" Jisung asked.

"Oh, sure. That'd be great."

Outside on Jisung's veranda, he'd installed an off-white, swinging chair that matched his flooring. It was covered in lime-green cushions that weren’t particularly to Minho’s taste. It was in the shade luckily though, so Minho perched on one side at Jisung's request whilst he went to grab them some drinks.

Jisung swung out of his front door with two open, green bottles in his hand. Minho didn't really like beer, but he considered one would probably be okay and it was still hot even for early evening. He was still in his work clothes, so he loosened his top button and removed his tie, shoving it in his pocket.

"Cheers." They both clinked their bottles together before looking back to watch the two boys playing, both clanging the sticks against the metal bin. Minho noticed how relaxed Jisung was around him almost immediately, he figured he was just one of these 'comfortable people' who liked to take up space, slumping back against the seat with his legs spread out so that their knees were touching.

"So, Minho. What do you do?”

"Oh, I work in Human Resources for this big firm, it's really not fun and totally uninteresting." Minho said, rather uninspired, taking a sip that was smaller than he made it seem. "What about you?"

"I'm a language teacher. I teach English and Spanish."

"Wow, you speak _three_ languages? That's incredible. Seungmin would absolutely adore you. He loves watching shows in English..."

"Your older son? He's pretty young to be interested in foreign language."

"Well, not to brag, but Seungmin is incredibly advanced for his age. Sometimes I think he's smarter than I am." Minho chuckled. He almost wished that he were joking…

"Where is he today? I always seem to miss him."

"Oh, his Dad has taken him to a baseball game after school. He loves baseball, he's on a team, too."

"Wow, smart _and_ sporty? Not to brag though, right?"

"Not at all… and he’s totally not Class Captain for his class, either…”

“Pah, sounds like he’s a good kid. Maybe Seungmin can help show Felix around? He starts on Wednesday. He’s excited; _too_ excited, honestly.”

“Of course, Seung loves everyone. I’m sure he’d actually _insist_ on showing the new students around.” Minho scoffed, looking back to him, then back to the boys again, a slight silence falling over them.

"--So, the boys live with you most of the time, then?" Jisung enquired.

"Yeah, my ex, he gets them every other weekend but if there's a big game on Seungie will go with him. It's kind of their 'thing' together..."

"That's thoughtful of him." Jisung replied, taking a swig of his beer. 

"Yeah, he's honestly a great Dad. Though, in my defence, he only gets them on occasion, so he doesn't get to see their demon sides much…" Minho laughed. "He's never had to forcibly peel Jeongin off of the TV _two hours_ after his bedtime, crying and screaming because he can't watch some late-night, period-costumed, trot performance on TV..."

"You're telling me. A few months back Felix decided he would make his own stuffed owl out of the couch-cushion packing… And his own hair."

"Wow... You win." Minho said, pulling at his shirt collar comedically. Luckily, Seungmin was smart enough to know not to cut his own hair, and Jeongin was honestly just terrified of anything that was ‘ _sharp or pointy’_.

"Yup. The annoying thing is, I couldn't even be mad at him. He kept sobbing telling me how sorry he was and I'm a bit of a soft touch." He giggled, shaking his head.

"He's such a cute little guy, I'm sure anyone would be." Minho watched as Felix picked up each stick one-by-one from the pile, looking over it inquisitively with a little eyebrow raise to assess its _wand_ _performance_ _capabilities_. He kept spinning them in his index fingers and waving each one around, settling on a thicker twig with a bright smile on his face.

Jeongin was watching him in awe, observing his new ‘a-little-bit-older’ friend. He took the stick from the other boy and waved it above his head before they both started clapping and nodding in agreement that this _particular_ _stick_ was the one for Jeongin... Minho noticed that Felix was just a little older than Jeongin, but he was so petite that Jeongin was already taller than him.

"Felix!" Jisung shouted across to him, "How about you tell Mr. Lee what your wand is called?" He ushered him over with his hands. Felix sprinted immediately over to them and Jisung grabbed at his tiny hand to bring him close enough to lean in and perch him in between his knees. Minho could see the look of adoration on the other man's face; it could melt butter. And him.

"Okay!" He turned to Minho directly. "Hello, Mr. Lee. This is my wand; their name is Wanda!" Felix said proudly with a big smile across his face, shaking it backwards and forwards at him, way too close to his face. Minho noticed that he'd lovingly poured glue all over the stick and dipped in pink and purple glitter... He'd been shaking it so vigorously he'd unleashed the glitter all over his work pants...

"Well, that is a _very nice_ name, Felix. Did you think of that yourself?" Minho said softly, smiling at the boy.

"No, the wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Lee. Wanda chose me!" Felix said plainly. He jumped off away from Jisung's lap and ran back to Jeongin, a little skip to his step.

"That… Is the _cutest thing I've ever seen..."_ Minho fussed, shaking his head at how soft-hearted he’d become at the sight.

"Much better than his 'fairy wings' made from _actual bird feathers_ he found in the backyard..." Jisung said, grimacing with a whole-body shudder.

"Oh. Well, that one, that one's probably my fault, I have three cats, they like to terrorise the neighbourhood pigeons on occasion..."

"Three cats? So, you're like the male equivalent of a Crazy Cat Lady, then?"

"Excuse you. To be classified as a Crazy Cat person you must have at least six cats. I don't make the rules. I just enforce them." Minho said, hand to his chest in feigned insult.

 **18:02pm** **🐿️---**

Jisung sat, relaxing in the sun with his new neighbour after some casual small talk about the boys and their jobs.

Minho seemed fairly down-to-Earth.

Jisung could tell he was probably pretty uptight, and he for sure had a boring-as-hell job that Jisung probably couldn’t stand to do personally...

But maybe he just needed to loosen up, a little.

He could also tell that Minho was a great Dad though, and he needed to talk to more people his age, anyway. Being stuck around school kids and a 7-year-old did take its' toll on occasion.

He was thankful that Minho had agreed to a drink with him.

It was already super relaxed between them, and Jisung could tell that their boys were going to get along, which meant he could probably rely on him to look after Felix if he ever needed it.

Jeongin was so cute, too, with the same dark brown, silky hair that Minho had. Minho's eyes were a little fuller and round though.

Minho was actually rather intimidating to look at, for whatever reason. Especially since he’d loosened his tie a little just down to his collarbones.

He knew that Minho was into exercise, so it made sense that he’d be in great shape, but he had a certain aura about him that Jisung couldn’t quite put his finger on.

He was a little quiet, but he liked it. He was mysterious, almost. It made a difference from having someone talk _at him_ for the last eight months of his life.

Plus, all his other friends were as loud as he was, so it was nice to be able to have someone to talk to on these relaxed evenings.

After just one beer down, Jisung had noticed that Felix and Jeongin were simply sitting on the grass, just talking to each other quietly, both of them stroking Jeongin’s fox plush.

It was the calmest he’d seen Felix in a while.

Maybe he would get to bed before 9:30pm, tonight.

“ _Daaaad_ … Can Jeongin and Foximus have a sleepover?” Felix said, toddling back over to him.

“Not tonight, Felix. It’s a school night for Jeongin and you only have one more day of being at home until _you_ start. Maybe another night though, but _only_ if it’s okay with Mr. Lee.” Jisung said, trying to ignore the sad, grumpy look on Felix’s little face.

“Mr. Lee! Can Jeongin and Foximus have a sleepover soon?” Jisung watched as Felix turned around slowly, twiddling his thumbs with his head held low.

He flashed Minho his little puppy-dog eyes, looking up through his lashes in the same way that made Jisung cave on the regular. 

“Of course, Felix. Maybe Seungmin can come once you’ve met him, too?” Minho had responded, smiling gently at him.

“Wow, okay! Two friends! We will need to find another wand though.”

Jisung swung his arms around the boy, engulfing him, squishing his cheeks against his biceps.

If he had the choice, he would never let go of him.

He turned his attention back to Minho; his hair highlighted by the swiftly-setting sun.

“It might be a better idea if Felix stays around ours though first, if you wouldn’t mind? Jeongin gets a little nervous away from home.” Minho added. 

Jisung stared at him for a moment, noticing how sharp his profile was as he watched Jeongin.

The older man turned back to him to await his response; his lips slightly parted.

There it was again.

The strange sensation of _something_ that Jisung had felt about Minho, rearing its’ head.

He put it down to _intrigue_. 

“O-Oh, yeah. Sure, no worries.” Jisung replied, after realising he hadn’t responded.

“Well, I better get Jeongin home. I need to get changed out of these clothes and cook us some dinner. Thanks for the drink, Jisung. It was fantastic to meet you, Felix!” Minho said politely, placing his beer bottle down on the side table next to the swinging bench.

After Felix had made his goodbyes, he plopped down on the other side of the seat, crossing his legs, and firmly nuzzling himself under his Jisung’s arm. 

As Minho exited down his lawn, Jeongin’s hand in his, Jisung seriously couldn’t take his eyes off of him.

“I really like Mr. Lee, Dad!” Felix said, smiling enthusiastically at him.

“Me too, Felix.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i know that felix isn't naturally blonde so he wouldn't have been blonde when he was a kid BUT HONESTLY I CAN ONLY SEE HIM AS A LITTLE FRECKLED BLONDE BOY I'M SORRY


	4. It Is A Wise Father That Knows His Own Child

**Friday, 17:45pm** **🐿️---**

Jisung heard the low rumble of a car entering the street. It was a red merc, one he hadn't seen before since he moved in over a week ago.

The engine was loud, so loud it drowned out his guitar, so he stopped playing for a while.

The car pulled up just outside of Minho's, on the dropped curb.

A dark-haired man appeared from the driver’s side.

Jisung clocked him as he closed his car door.

He was sure the other man looked him up and down, just for a moment.

The man was probably shorter than Minho, with dark brown hair that almost covered his eyes.

He was wearing a black cap and just a fitted black T-shirt.

He also had a chunky silver chain around his neck, and Jisung was sure it wouldn't have suited anyone else but him.

He was stocky and slightly tanner than Minho, with muscular arms.

 _Very,_ muscular arms.

Jisung suddenly felt the urge to work out.

He and Minho talked a lot now whenever they saw each other and Seungmin and Jeongin had been helpful, showing Felix around the school on his first day on Wednesday.

He considered their little families fast friends.

That, and the weird questionable 'chemistry' he felt he had with the older man.

So, Jisung couldn't help but stare at the mysterious man from his porch chair.

He'd never seen this person before, so he was a bit intrigued as to why he was showing up on Minho's doorstep on a Friday night.

He noticed some of the older women suddenly appear from their curtains to look at him, as if perfectly on cue, like it was ritualistic.

He made the fast assumption that this small-but-stacked dude, was Minho's ex-husband.

Minho had told him that the boys would have to have their sleep over _next week,_ as it was his _‘ex's weekend to have the boys’._

He was now waiting at the door with his leg cocked out, leaning to the side with his arms crossed.

He looked at his large, silver watch every now and then, then he proceeded to knock on the door with a little more intensity than he did the first time.

Suddenly a little high-pitched voice could be heard from the hallway as the front door swung open.

"Daddy!"

Little Jeongin appeared from the door and jumped immediately in top the man's embrace.

The strong, muscular arms wrapping around him and spinning him around in the air a few times.

Seungmin also appeared, walking sombrely to the door with his rucksack slung over his shoulder.

It was definitely a change from the smiling, helpful, Class-Captain-Seungmin he'd met on Wednesday.

"I like your hat Dad!" Jisung heard Jeongin shout, still attached to his Dad's waist.

He pulled the cap off, and put it on himself, near enough engulfing his entire head, which was rewarded with a laugh from the man.

He shimmied him across to his hip to he could hold him more comfortably; Jisung noticed how effortless it seemed.

Then, he heard Minho shouting at Seungmin; or maybe not _shouting_ , but definitely raising his voice.

Just enough that he and the rest of the neighbours could hear it.

He should have looked away, but he was too invested.

He watched as Seungmin marched towards the car, leaving a slightly deflated Minho standing there talking to the other man, Jeongin still firmly in his grasp.

The man had locked the car door earlier, so when Seungmin went to get inside, he couldn't.

So, instead, he just pulled at it a few times, huffed, and then resorted to just leaning against the side of the car with a little pout across his face and crossed arms.

His attention was brought back to Minho.

There was something quite attractive about him when he was a little fired up, Jisung thought.

He'd never really seen him so emotive, before.

He was usually quite reserved.

He watched Minho shove Jeongin's bag towards the other man, who accepted it, laughing a little bit.

He put it his over his arm. The bag strap opening was almost as wide as his bicep, so it slipped down to his forearm.

Minho shouted something back to the man, in which Jisung could hear him respond; "Lighten up, fun-sponge."

It made Jisung laugh, but he knew he probably shouldn't have.

He watched the older man swagger back down the path, making Seungmin get in the back seat, rather than the front one he was leaning against.

He patted his hair a little, Seungmin immediately pulling away from the interaction in a huff.

Jisung thought his own heart would break in two if Felix reacted to his head pats, like that. 

They all clambered in, then the man strapped them both in and drove off.

All the neighbours ducked their heads back in their windows, a bit deflated.

Either they'd finished ogling Minho's kids' Dad, or there wasn't as much drama as they had anticipated.

Jisung realised that he'd been watching rather intently, and Minho noticed, too, clocking him from across the road. 

**17:42pm** **🐱---**

Minho looked out of the window, peering through the living room curtain. Finally, he heard the rumble of Changbin's obnoxious car engine filling the street.

"That must be him, late as usual. Boys!" He made his way into the hallway, perching his hands against the stair railing. "Dad is at the door! Come on!" Minho called up the staircase.

Changbin was meant to be there ten minutes ago, not that him being late was particularly _ground-breaking_ news. He had the boys from Friday night until Sunday night, every other weekend. He doesn't recall a time in the last three years that he was ever exactly on time...

Jeongin's excited little feet tapped down the stairs animatedly as Seungmin appeared after him, a little less enthusiastically. Minho had barely unlocked the door chain before Jeongin was sprinting out of it, diving at Changbin with all his might.

"Daddy!" He screamed, gripping at Changbin's hat. "I like your hat Dad!" Jeongin said to the other man, pulling at it and placing it on his own head.

Seungmin shuffled out of the door afterwards, coughing to clear his throat, arms crossed over his chest.

"Can we go now...?"

"Well, hello to you too." Changbin retorted sarcastically.

"Hey... Changbin." Seungmin replied, with a carefree shrug.

" _Seungmin_!" Minho shouted at him in disbelief; swiftly appearing behind and spinning him around to face him, both hands firmly on his shoulders. "How dare you call your Father that?!"

It wasn't the first time. Seungmin had been referring to his Dad as 'Changbin' since Monday's baseball game. He tended to do that kind of thing when he was upset. He was particularly passive-aggressive, rather than emotional, like Jeongin was. Passive-aggressiveness was a trait that Minho had clearly passed down to him...

"It's okay, Minho." Changbin retorted, shrugging off the comment a little unenthusiastically with a stifled laugh.

"No, it is absolutely _not_ , Bin. It's disrespectful." He said clearly to him, before turning his attention back to his stroppy younger version. "Seungmin, I _know_ you've had a hard day today, but we have spoken about this before. You’re not to take your anger out on your Dad? Do you understand?"

"S-sorry, Dad." Seungmin muttered, looking back to Changbin with a guilty expression on his face. He dropped his head down as he started power-walking down the path to head to his other Dads' car. Minho just sighed as he watched him. He checked inside of Jeongin's Avengers rucksack to ensure he had his night-light and plushie and zipped it up.

"Sorry, Bin. He's had a rough day. He didn't get the grade he wanted in a test he studied hard for at school and he fell out with one of his friends today, too."

"Ah. Should have known it would be school-related, with him." Changbin laughed.

"Don't say it like that. You know he's sensitive about that kind of thing." Minho snapped at him, shoving Jeongin's bag in his direction against his chest.

"I know, I know. I'm just kidding, Minho. Anyway, I'll have them back Sunday night."

"Please, Bin, don't be late this time..." Minho leaned forward through the door to say goodbye to Jeongin. He gave his youngest a small peck on the forehead and the younger boy beamed at him, his eyes disappearing into his smile.

"I won't, promise." Changbin accepted Jeongin's little rucksack from Minho, throwing it over his arm and reaching for his car keys, balancing Jeongin at the same time with ease.

"You _promised_ the last three times…" Minho slightly shouted to him, as the man had already turned to leave.

"Lighten up, fun-sponge." Changbin shouted at him as he exited the gate, looking back and winking in Minho's direction with a smile on his face. He walked back to the red, iridescent sports car, pressing the key-fob, illuminating the headlights for a moment. Seungmin pulled at the front door lethargically to open it.

"Ey, squirt, in the back, in the seat, you know the rules." Changbin said to him, ruffling his hair as he put Jeongin back down. Seungmin shook his bangs straight again and patted his head down to smooth down a little cowlick. Jeongin skipped across to the other door, pulling it open with both hands using _all his might_ , but Changbin still had to help him keep it open whilst he climbed in.

As they drove off, Minho noticed he wasn't the only one out in his yard. He had noticed his neighbours ducking back in their windows, and once again, as per most nights, Jisung was playing guitar on his veranda. Minho clocked him from across the yard and cocked an eyebrow. Jisung just smiled back before shouting across to him.

"That car is a bit too flash for a Dad of two young kids, don't you think?"

"Honestly, you wouldn't think he'd need a mid-life crisis car at 30 years old, but here we are..." Minho said, shrugging and stifling a laugh at Jisung's comment.

"I much prefer my 2010 Volkswagen Sharan, personally. I guess that's just me though..."

"Maybe, you're just cheap?" Minho retorted, cocking his head to the side.

"Oh. Definitely." He said with a smile, leaning tantalisingly over his fence. "I'm not about material things Minho!" He flicked his head across to the right, pointing across the lawn, making Minho look in that direction.

Felix was lying down on his stomach on the grass, kicking his little pink Vans up and down. He looked concentrated, with his tongue peeking out the left side of his mouth. He was coloring in a scrunched-up ball of paper with a gold marker pen. The scrunched-up ball had two little feathers sticking out on either side to look like wings. 

Minho smiled at him softly. He really did think Felix was such an infectiously, creative kid. He was like a little ball of sunshine whenever he was with the boys and he had actually brought Jeongin out of his shell a little bit in a short period of time.

He looked back to Jisung, who was still watching him. They maintained eye contact for far too long, in Minho’s opinion. He'd gotten _entirely_ too used to seeing Jisung in a pinkish-sunset filter from his front lawn. His stomach clenched a little at the sight of him, as he tried not to overthink the pseudo-romantic moment in his head…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this is minsung but dad!changbin does things to my soul  
> Thank you for reading <3


	5. Love Is Like A Child That Longs For Everything It Can Come By

**Friday, 6:05pm** **🐿️---**

Jisung slumped down in the living room on his couch, propping his feet up on the cushion beside him to get comfortable. 

He tapped at his phone to order some delicious Chinese takeout via an app he'd installed once he’d realised there was no fast food around for a few miles.

Sweet and sour chicken was one of Felix's favourites and he really couldn't be bothered to cook on a Friday night.

Or any night, really.

Felix came back in through to the living room wearing his little purple hoodie and pink Vans.

Jisung noticed the knees of his light-blue jeans were totally covered in mud.

Felix was cupping his hands closed tightly to his chest and hunching his teeny body just enough to conceal whatever it was he was hiding.

He had a cheeky little smile on his face, like always.

Jisung _really_ hoped this was not another 'Spider Friend'.

He'd already met _Aragog_ _1_ , _2_ and _3_ , last week. 

"Dad look, I made the _Golden_ _Snitch_!" He shoved the crumpled-up gold, paper ball with wings in to Jisung's hands suddenly.

Jisung recoiled trying not to snap the wings clean off.

"Wow Felix, this is beautiful." He span himself around to sit up straight and looked over it, before realising that the wings were _real_ _feathers_ , again. "Felix... Where did you get these 'wings' from?"

"Jeongie got them from his back yard the other day! They were a bit dirty because they were from the floor, so I put silver glitter on them to cover up the mud! I can't wait to show him!" Felix beamed, clasping his tiny hands together in front of his chest, desperate for Jisung’s approval.

"Oh... That's... _Nice_. Thank you…" He grimaced but played it off as a smile, placing the hand-crafted, likely _biohazardous_ ball on to the side table next to him.

He'd have to accidentally find somewhere to 'lose' that thing at some point once Felix was over this particular phase.

Usually Jisung treasured all of Felix’s little creations and drawings.

Even the one where he’d drawn Jisung with a massively disproportionate head and the caption of ‘ _Daddy trys his best to play geetar some time but he is still a little bit bad I_ _think_ ’ written above it.

Most of his little masterpieces were pride of place on the mantelpiece or refrigerator, but sometimes he’d have to draw the line.

Risking literal bacterial infection for the sake of ' _one-hundred and fifty Quidditch house points'_ was definitely ‘the line’.

Felix sat down on the floor on the pale yellow, fluffy rug in the middle of the living room, crossing his legs and pulling off his drawstring rucksack from his back.

He pulled out two small, makeshift _'Bludgers'_ , which were just two largish bouncy balls, dipped in dark grey paint.

Then, his _'Quaffle'_ which was a tennis ball he'd covered in brown felt, which he probably found somewhere along the street, knowing Felix.

"I have a full set now!" Felix beamed, clapping his hands together, looking back at Jisung with wide, crescent-moon shaped eyes.

"Wow, that's amazing Felix, well done." Jisung said, nodding in amusement. "Hey, where's your wand, Felix?" He asked.

"Wanda got broken at school today." Felix said, sighing a little, then looking back down glumly, focusing on his new Quidditch equipment with a little pout.

"Oh no, Little Man. Come here." Jisung cooed over to him.

He knew Felix loved that wand.

Felix looked up at him with great big, round eyes, as Jisung held both hands out in front of him to invite Felix in to his arms. 

Felix immediately welcomed the invitation as he always did, shooting up to his feet and meeting Jisung in a warm hug on the couch, Jisung's arms draping around him and his head firmly positioned in the crook of his neck.

He rocked him backwards and forwards a little, swaying them both in unison.

Then he pulled the tiny boy upwards to sit him firmly on his lap, brushing his bangs out of his face as he looked at him.

"What happened to them?" Jisung asked apologetically.

"A boy from school in another class broke Wanda, accidentally." Felix said, dropping his head just a little bit.

"Oh no!" Jisung said earnestly, with a _slightly exaggerated_ shocked look on his face. "Poor Wanda! Well, accidents do happen. Do you want to glue them back together?"

"No, the boy took both parts and threw them over the fence in the tennis bit at school." Felix said.

Jisung's expression fell a little, his brow furrowing.

He made sure not to be too obvious about it in front of Felix.

"He... He threw Wanda over the fence?"

"Yes. He said it was broken so there was no point in playing with Wanda anymore... I was sad at first, but it’s okay. I will have to make a new wand. Wanda was my favourite and _they_ _chose_ _me_ so it will be difficult to get a new one." He said, still remaining in good spirits. "I think wizards get another chance if their wand breaks though, right? Or they can't do magic again which would be really bad for a wizard..." He nodded, convincing himself he was correct.

Jisung loved that Felix was a little optimist, he never really took anything to heart. He was a fairly sensitive kid; but he'd usually get upset, then get over it immediately, finding something else to concentrate on.

Jisung however, definitely took anything regarding Felix, to heart.

Felix only saw the positives in people, for better or for worse, so something wasn't sitting right in Jisung’s mind.

"Well Felix, maybe you can make a _clone_ of Wanda with magic?" He twinkled his left-hands fingers around in front of Felix's face before tapping on the tip of his nose with his index finger with a little ‘ _Boop!_ ’.

Felix let out a little giggle and mimicked Jisung's jazz hands in a tinier version, shaking his hands above his head, wriggling his fingers.

"Maybe I can try! I don't know though. The boys at school said I should try a different color wand than pink. I think green maybe this time! I like green, too. Like frog-color." He said, smiling again.

"What about purple? That’s your favorite color!" Jisung said.

"Purple is still my favorite, but I still think green this time, instead though." He said, nodding.

Jisung looked into Felix's eyes again, a little _concern_ slipping through the cracks again.

Felix still looked to be in a good mood, so Jisung tried not to dwell on it. 

"Okay, Kiddo, whatever you want. Speaking of whatever you want, how about Chinese food tonight?" Jisung said, poking at Felix's tummy. “With extra prawn crackers?”

"Really?!" He said, suddenly becoming animated again.

He clasped both of his hands to his face in excitement.

Jisung grimaced a little, remembering that Felix had had his hands in the mud, before this.

"Really, really!" Jisung used his arms which were already wrapped around Felix, to lift him and playfully drop his head backwards until he was upside down hanging off of the couch, eliciting the cutest laughs from Felix as he did it over and over again.

Felix laughing was like music to his ears, and always did a good job of distracting him when he was in an _off_ mood.

His day hadn’t been all sunshine and rainbows, to say the least.

He’d been trying to re-plumb his shower today, with little success. He’d ended up wetter than Shamu.

He’d also managed to snap not one, but _two_ guitar strings in one day.

Plus, he'd also actually arranged to have friends over tomorrow; but they both cancelled.

It would have been the first time they’d seen his new place so he was pretty excited about it.

Unfortunately, it'd had to be re-arranged to _next_ _Saturday._

Which kind of pissed Jisung off, as he _really_ wanted to let Felix stay over Minho's house like he'd offered, next Saturday.

Jeongin was becoming a close friend to Felix, and Felix hadn't really stopped talking about him or 'Big Brother Seungmin’ since they met.

Jisung would give up all the free time in the world if it meant Felix was having a good time and making new friends.

Jisung also knew that next Saturday would be the weekend Minho’s ex-husband didn’t visit, so maybe he’d be able to wrangle some time with him…

After dropping Felix back down to the couch, he fished his phone out of his pocket, unlocking it with his face ID.

He tapped on his regular group chat.

* * *

** The boys! **

Me, .Chris. 🐺, Hyunjinnie 🦙

Guys can we please make it next /Friday/ night, rather than Saturday night?

I totally forgot Felix is having a sleepover with his new friends.

He’s really excited for it.

Sorry to change the plans again.

 ** Hyunjinnie ** **🦙: **

buuuut the game’s on saturday! it won't be the same watching it live the next day without you guys! :(

**.Chris.** **🐺:**

Like you care about the game Hyunjin, you literally just watch for the men in shorts…

That's fine with me man, I finish work at 5:00pm on Friday so I can come round after. x

 ** Hyunjinnie ** **🦙 **

okay fine you got me.

....

at least Jisung can appreciate them with me, spoil sport.....

but, lowkey i do actually have a date on Friday night...

**.Chris.** **🐺:**

You have a date and you didn’t even tell us? What’s his name? x

 ** Hyunjinnie ** **🦙: **

ahhhhhhhh~ No comment!

it’s not like that! it’s not a serious thing y’know.

he is suuuper hot though... 😉

and rich fyi

You’re kidding…

Tell me you’re kidding...

Another one?!

Aren’t we a little old for hook ups…?

 ** Hyunjinnie ** ** 🦙: **

we’re 30, not 60! Stop stifling me!

*sigh* i GUESS i can re-arrange.

only for you two... but you owe me.

BIG time.

emphasis on Big.

**Chris.** **🐺:**

Yikes… x

That’s more like it. Thanks Hyunjin, Felix will love you forever!

 ** Hyunjinnie ** **🦙: **

excuse you!?! Felix already loves Uncle Hyunjin forever!!!!

Of course!

Also, random one…

Would it be cool if I invited one of my new neighbours?

I don’t think he has many friends around here as the entire street is literally all old ladies…

And I think he’s pretty cool.

**.Chris.** **🐺:**

It’s your house, man! Invite who you want! The more the merrier, I say x

 ** Hyunjinnie ** **🦙: **

hmmmmm… what does he look like? 😏

then i’ll make my mind up if he can come or not...

You’re unbelievable, Hwang.

 ** Hyunjinnie ** **🦙: **

**😇**


	6. Tis One Thing To Be Tempted, Another Thing To Fall

**Sunday, 21:12pm** **🐱---**

"Hi Dad!" Jeongin said, bounding towards him. "Look, Dad bought me this!" He was pulling a _much larger_ stuffed fox behind him, scraping it along on the grass. "It's from a carnival! Dad won it! I'm going to show Felix at school tomorrow and we are going to both name him!" He beamed, Seungmin simply rolling his eyes at the younger boys excitement. 

"That's amazing Jeongin, come on now, let's get upstairs." He ushered the boys in, placing his palm against the back of their heads as they slipped past. Jeongin plonked down to the floor on his butt, pulling at his shoelaces to try and untie them. Minho leaned down to assist him as Seungmin simply kicked his off and quickly made his way up the stairs, swinging himself around the banister as he went.

"Go on, I'll be up in a moment okay?" Minho cooed at Jeongin, who wrapped his arms around his neck for a quick hug before darting off up the stairs, too. Minho watched as he headed up, waiting to hear the _much-needed_ sound of the boys' door closing. Minho closed his eyes for a moment, then turned back to the man standing on his steps.

"Changbin, it's nearly 9:15pm. The boys should be in their rooms by 8:00pm at the latest. Honestly, it takes so long to get them in a routine and you just come and mess it up every other week." Minho said, running his hand backwards through his bangs, then crossing his arms tightly across his chest. He felt his foot tapping a little in frustration. "How many times do I have to say it?"

"You're so uptight Min, they had a good time!" Changbin retorted defensively.

"You always make me out to be the bad guy..." Minho said. He huffed a little.

It was true. He always felt like the inferior parent whenever Changbin treated the boys to bowling on a whim, or took them out for rides in his convertible, or took them on surprise trips to theme parks and baseball games. Minho wasn't 'struggling' by any means, he could afford to treat the boys, but he knew that Changbin could always one-up him.

"Look. I'm sorry, Minho. They just wanted to stay a little longer. I don't mean to piss you off. These things just happen." Changbin said to him, slipping his hands in to his pockets and slumping his shoulders down casually. "I just want them to have some fun when they're with me. I don't get to see them as much as you do..."

Minho was about to set on a mini stress-induced rampage about custody, but he decided he was too tired for the confrontation. He looked at the man in front of him on the steps, and decided to let bygones be bygones…

"It's okay. I know you're trying. I do appreciate it, really. They have a good time when they're with you and that's all that's important. Thank you, for taking them out."

With that, Changbin opened his arms out to gesture Minho in for a hug. Minho really loved the feeling of Changbin's arms around him; and he knew it. Changbin gave the best hugs, so warm and inviting. Minho gave in, allowing himself to share the moments embrace for a few seconds before pulling away.

"Okay, I'm going to tuck the boys in, I'll see you next--"

"--You're not gonna invite me in?" Changbin said in some kind of disbelief, tilting his head to the side a little. Minho looked back to him, he was leaning in towards him now with his regular _semi-smirk_ plastered across his face, lifting his chin to look at him from underneath his hat.

"Bin..." Minho sighed, rolling his eyes up to the ceiling and then back to him firmly. He suppressed his volume a little bit, so that the no one could hear the conversation apart from them. "Please, we've been over this a thousand times. I'm not going to do this again, it's too much stress on the boys. I've told you already."

"Well, if we don’t tell the boys, then the boys won’t find out?" Minho watched him bring his lower lip between his teeth. He was so cocky it made him irritated at himself for still finding it attractive...

Changbin took a step forward, pushing him backwards gently in to the hall space as he walked his own way inside the door. He closed it behind him gently with a _click_ , before softly wrapping his hands around Minho’s forearms to bring him in closer.

“Well that’s not all this is about, is it?” Minho huffed, trying to look anywhere else than in to Changbin’s eyes.

Next, Changbin’s hands travelled from his arms, up his biceps, then started wrapping themselves around his neck. Minho felt every little move he made.

“Then, what is the issue?” He teased.

"It's not just them, though, Bin. It makes me feel a bit... I don't know." Minho stuttered. Changbin moved in even closer, planting a soft kiss to the inside of Minho's neck. Then another.

Minho tried to shy away from it at first, but he was a little too weak to entirely reject it...

“Well, if you tell me to stop, then I’ll stop, you know that.” He said tauntingly, grazing his lips behind his ear. Minho seriously wanted to wipe the smirk off of Changbin’s big, dumb face.

"Bin..." He sighed. "You and me both know that's not going to happen..." 

It wasn't the first time. Since they'd broken up, they'd probably ended up in bed together more than ‘a handful’ of times over the course of the last few years. Minho would tell his cougar friends from across the street that it was three or four times, tops. Minho actually thinks it would probably be ten times that amount, at least. It was almost becoming a bi-monthly occurrence by this point.

The first time it happened they naively fell asleep afterwards before Changbin could leave, and Minho had to explain to a then-six-year old Seungmin who'd wandered in the next day that ' _He and Daddy weren't getting back together'_. The young boy cried about it for days after and Minho was mortified.

What frustrated Minho the most, was that he was such an affectionate person; too much so for his own good. He revelled in the feeling of having someone close to him; not that anyone would ever guess from his exterior. Changbin being so present in the boys' lives was a blessing, and a curse, as he could never truly get away from his feelings, even if he tried.

"…Binnie, we're broken up. _Remember_?" Minho muttered, his eyes finally fluttering shut at the gentle contact Changbin was making with his neck. He couldn't even pretend that his neck wasn't his absolute weakness, and Changbin knew it. He was the perfect height to nuzzle in closely to it. 

"Never stopped us before Min..." He taunted. "Plus, how can you expect me to not want you when you look so good all the time?" He was whispering now, his voice low and raspy. He moved in even further, close to the shell of his ear, so that his lips just brushed across his skin as he spoke. He was so delicate, just enough to send a shiver down Minho’s neck. 

Minho wasn’t even wearing anything enticing, but he would be lying if he said he didn’t gussy up _a little_ in anticipation for Changbin’s return every other week. Maybe a nicer shirt than usual, a slightly different hairstyle, maybe even a slightly tighter pair of jeans than what he would usually wear around the house… 

He didn’t even know _why_ he did that. Maybe he just wanted to show the other man that he was fine on his own. Or maybe, he just wanted to feel attractive, for once. 

"I need to tuck the boys in for bed. They have school tomorrow and it's already gone nine... You should... _Probably-_ go..." He stuttered in between every touch, gasping a little every time his breath hitched. He knew he'd not be able to hold back for long, he couldn’t even convince _himself_ , let alone Changbin.

" _Probably?"_ Changbin uttered, playfully slipping his index finger under the hem of Minho's shirt. The slight contact of Changbin's fingers against his stomach made him shiver again. He was so, so weak.

He tried to catch his breath by leaning backwards away from the encounter best he could. He gazed at him for a just moment; Changbin's dark eyes meeting his from under his cap. All he could think about was how _badly_ he wanted to take that stupid hat off and feel his soft hair beneath his fingertips.

Minho hated himself for this, he _really_ did…

He sighed.

He tugged the cap off of Changbin's head and threw it aside, suddenly raking his left hand through the back of his hair like he wanted to. He tugged on it lightly by squeezing his hand up in a loose fist; but just tight enough to elicit a _smug_ groan from the younger man; he knew he’d won. Minho pulled him in insistently by the hair, crashing their lips together just like he knew he would end up doing.

He released the younger man’s hair, instead opting to wrap both of his arms around his neck to deepen the kiss as he angled them closer together.

He felt the familiarity taking over, their tongues clashing in just the way Minho was used to with him.

Changbin placed his hands firmly on either side of Minho's hips and started manoeuvring him backwards towards the staircase. He shifted his hands lower, slipping them both under the back of his shirt as he leant him back against the soft, carpeted steps so Minho was near enough on his back on his own staircase. It felt ridiculous, and incredible, all at the same time.

He thought back to a time when he and Changbin were 21, or maybe 22, and they’d end up in a friends’ closet, or the back of a car, or in the middle of a field somewhere, scrambling to tear each other’s clothes off. He remembered when he was that adventurous; it seemed like a lifetime ago, now.

He felt Changbin’s _presence_ so strongly; his demeanour, his expensive sandalwood smell, his muscular physique, everything about him. Minho’s hands were desperately clutching at his broad back, gripping tightly like he didn’t want to let go. But he knew he should.

Minho had a brief moment of clarity through his pathetically shrouded mind. He needed to sort the boys out, before one of them came down the stairs questioningly, wondering why Dad was still here. He wasn't spiritually ready to have the _'Me and Daddy are just wrestling'_ conversation, again.

He pushed up lightly against Changbin's chest with his palms to disengage their lips, moving him backwards away from the kiss, hands finding their way to cling on to Changbin's neck afterwards.

"Binnie…. You’re so…” He said, breathlessly. He didn’t know if he wanted to follow up with _‘goddamn annoying’_ or ‘ _fucking_ _hot’_ , so he said neither... “Look, I’m going to tuck boys in then I'll be right back... Don't go anywhere." He kissed him again, then again, drowning in the familiarity of his smooth lips and revelling in the attention as he always did. Changbin smirked into the kiss, sucking his lower lip in between his teeth.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Minho really hated it when he said that, in particular.

He slipped out of their _current predicament_ , untangling from each other, Minho started wading up the stairs, not failing to notice how Changbin’s glazed eyes didn’t leave the lines of his body for a second.

He walked across to Jeongin’s room first. He straightened the back of his hair down, which was sticking up at the back due to the static created when the back of his head was pressed against the carpet…

Jeongin was already fast asleep, fully dressed, barely wrapped in his purple blanket, using the enormous new fox addition as a pillow. Minho walked across to him, trying to re-arrange the blanket to cover him a bit more, then planting a soft kiss to the top of his head. He simply flicked the light out and pulled his door closed.

Across the hall, Seungmin was sitting up in his bed, Jeongin's night light in the hallway casting the room in a slight glow, just enough for him to read his book. He looked a little bit puffy and fatigued, with his hair slightly unkept from the carnival rides. He'd at least managed to get in to his pajamas though, unlike Jeongin.

"Seungie, not too much more reading for tonight, okay? It's already late." Minho whispered, shifting across to Seungmin's bed and stroking the back of his head gently. He noticed that Seungmin's eyes were a little puffy, too. He felt as Seungmin leant into Minho’s hand, allowing his Dad to lightly cradle his face for a just a moment.

Seungmin dozily nodded in understanding, not even attempting to give Minho any kind of snarky back-chat about how ‘ _reading was more important than sleep’_ , which was rather rare. Minho watched as he simply removed his glasses, before folding the sides in and placing them down carefully on his bedside-table. He laid down on his side as Minho pulled his quilt over him. _Still_ no backlash.

"G'night Dad." He said, dreamily, eyes already half shut.

"See you in the morning. Love you Seung." Minho planted a small kiss to the side of his head before pushing himself up off of the side of the bed.

"Love you, too."

Minho closed the door and slumped against the back of it, taking a deep breath. His exhale was a little shaky, and he knew why.

He almost wished Seungmin _had_ caused a fuss so that he would have an excuse to stay upstairs longer and maybe Changbin would get bored of waiting. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to find the _internal motivation_ to go back downstairs and insist to Changbin that they should stop doing whatever it was they were _clearly_ about to do…

He ultimately didn't find it in him though, as he locked eyes with the younger man from the top of the stairs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> what's that???  
> a minbinsung love triangle  
> don't mind if i do
> 
> OK the setting up is kinda done, we have the dynamics, let's see where this mess goes lmao


	7. A Harmless, Necessary Cat

**Wednesday, 7:02am** **🐱---**

"Where did you get that shirt from, Seung?" Minho asked inquisitively, looking at the black and white band t-shirt Seungmin was wearing next to him at the breakfast table.

"I bought it." He retorted, casually, sipping on his glass of milk. Minho looked back at him in confusion.

" _You_ bought it? How?" Minho chuckled.

"Well, I saved up for it and Dad bought it for me from a website." Seungmin said, shoving some pancake into his mouth. “But I picked it out!”

"Oh, okay. Well, good for you Seung! Saving up for things you want. You're so grown up." Minho said, reaching across next to him to stroke Seungmin’s hair, but being greeted with a sticky residue coating it.

"Mr. Han likes _Day6_ too, he sometimes sings their songs with Felix in the morning. I can hear him. He's really good."

"Does he? That's nice, Seung. What's in your hair?" He said, wiping the substance on his pyjama pants.

"I put gel in it to make it look different." He pouted, putting down his cutlery with a slightly passive aggressive _'clank'_ , trying to sift his hair back in to place after Minho had pulled his fingers through it.

"Why?" Minho laughed.

Seungmin just shrugged at him, picking his cutlery back up and resuming his pancakes. 

"You look so much like your Father today, you're like a little mini-him." Minho laughed, focusing back on his own plate. "Black shirt, messy hair. All you need now is a way-overpriced silver chain hanging around your neck." Minho laughed, about to pat Seungmin’s hair again, before he was quickly swatted away by the mini-Changbin.

"Well, I think it looks cool…" He huffed, puffing his little soft cheeks up.

"I like it Seungmin, I think it's cool." said a little excited voice from the other side of the table. Jeongin hadn't contributed much to the conversation up until this point, focusing on his bowl of blueberry sauce and half a pancake. Or at least, that's how Minho saw it; there was definitely more sauce than actual pancake...

Jeongin smiled at his brother, then he started happily tapping away on the tablet positioned on the table in front of his table space.

"Jeongin, no games at the breakfast table, you know the rules." Minho said sternly.

"But it's not for games! Dad said he was going to FaceTime call me before school so I could show him my new piano song because I play it really well now!" He whined. "I want to show him! Please!" He pleaded to Minho, shooting him the biggest puppy-dog eyes imaginable.

"Okay, okay! Be quick though, we only have twenty-five minutes before we need to leave for school." Minho said with a sigh; he could never really be angry at Jeongin.

Out of nowhere, Seungmin suddenly pushed himself out of his chair, the loud _screech_ of the chair legs on the kitchen tiles forcing everyone in the room to look at him.

"I'm finished." He snapped.

"You've barely eaten, Seungie?" Minho replied.

"Well I'm not hungry anymore." He said, pushing the chair in and heading for the door.

Okay... Well, get into your school uniform, we don't have long." Minho called out after him.

Minho watched as Seungmin stormed out of the room in _yet another_ little outburst. They were becoming increasingly common. Minho put it down to his age; Seungmin was 9, going on 15 and he certainly acted like it. 

**7:18am** **🐿️---**

Jisung wiped at his brow a little, there was no breeze in the air today, meaning he could really feel the humidity of the early morning sun.

He tapped his fingers on his guitar, humming the melody to a new song he'd started to write with Felix.

Felix had appointed himself the _'main lyricist'_ of for the song.

He'd decided to write the lyrics about the important topic of 'big dogs deserve lots of cuddles too, not just little dogs that you can pick up'.

Felix was still inside, trying to work out which hat he was going to wear today. He liked to wear a hat on a Wednesday, for whatever reason.

"Good morning, Mr. Han!" Minho's slightly older son, Seungmin, shouted over to him, waving from the lawn.

Jisung noticed it was pretty early for Seungmin to be outside; maybe about twenty minutes sooner than normal.

They'd usually be quite early though, as Minho would drop them off at 'breakfast club' first, which was where the kids whose parents worked full-time could drop the kids off a little early before school started.

Seungmin wasn't even in uniform, which was also, unusual for him.

The young boy wandered over, as close to him as he could within leaving the confines of his garden, just looking from across the road.

Seungmin was listening to him singing, again.

He'd realised that the young boy had started to watch him a little over the past few days.

He would always listen to him playing guitar, always say good morning to him and he'd promised that he would look after Felix at school, too.

The latter, of which, was high on Jisung's priority list right now.

"That's a cool shirt Seungmin! Is that new?"

Jisung noticed he was wearing a black _Day6_ t-shirt and his hair wasn't styled in its usual way. Rather it looked a bit more ruffled than normal.

"Yeah! Isn't it cool?!"

"Definitely! I listen to a lot of Day6, too." Jisung replied.

“I know, I can hear you sing sometimes!” Seungmin smiled at him, nodding in excitement at his approval of the shirt.

Suddenly, he held a book up in both hands in front of his face.

"My Dad said you can speak English? I can speak English, too." He held a book up in his hands, showing it to Jisung across the road.

"Yeah, that's right! What're you reading, there?" Jisung asked, squinting through the early morning sun.

"It's _‘The English Language, Advanced 2: Prefixes, Suffixes, Conversion and Compounds'_! It's for school but I'm really good at English so I read the older kids one!" He shouted across, rather proud of himself.

"Wow, that's so advanced." Jisung said, his eyes wide open in amazement.

"I watch a lot of English cartoons because I like the language. It sounds cool. I like to listen to English songs, too!"

"That's awesome, well done!" Jisung said to him, shooting him a little thumbs up.

"Well, I'm going to get dressed for school now, see you around, Mr. Han! You sounded really, _extra_ good today! Bye, Ms. Park!" He turned his attention to Jisung's next door neighbour, who was, as per usual, hanging out of her window to listen to him sing.

She ducked her head back in the window in embarrassment.

Maybe he needed a taller fence...

 **7:28am** **🐱---**

Minho barged through the front door, Jeongin's Avengers rucksack over his arm as it always was. Two blue lunchboxes, his own briefcase, and a supermarket bag containing yet another fox plush Jeongin had acquired that he wanted to bring to Show and Tell, today. Dori was twisting her tail up against his legs as he left, so he was trying to balance the bags, get the boys in the car and not step on his cat, all at the same time…

Jeongin was still in his video call with Changbin, walking along the path as he spoke to him. Minho could see he was in his suit for work, he looked handsome today, annoyingly.

"Morning Minho!" He heard the familiar sound of Jisung's whimsical voice from across the road as the slightly younger man waved at him.

 _Speaking of handsome_... There he was again, in all his arms-out, clammy-clavicle, angelic-singing-glory. His smile seemed extra bright, today. 

Minho never thought he'd ever meet anyone who was up earlier than he was. Minho was one of the only Dad's around here that did the school run and worked a full-time job. Minho knew that Jisung was a teacher though, so he likely had to be up early before school time, too.

"Oh, good morning Jisung!" Minho shouted to him frantically, as he tried to juggle his own briefcase and Jeongin's assortment of things in his arms.

Jisung took a quick jog across the road, taking the boys lunchboxes from under each of his arms and opening the door for Minho overtop of him, leaning across to prop it open.

Minho looked up to him from where he was, realising how close their faces were as he looked at him.

"Oh, thanks." Minho placed his briefcase in the footwell of Jeongin's side, as his little legs would stop it from falling over. He tugged Jeongin up from under the arms and placed him in his car seat. Minho had to physically strap him in himself as Jeongin was too focused on speaking to Changbin on the phone. Seungmin just wandered around the other side and got himself strapped in on his own.

Minho took the lunchboxes back from Jisung's hands, a little breathless from trying to sort it all out and a blush transcending him as he noticed the subtle definition of Jisung’s biceps as he held the door open.

"Thanks so much."

"No worries. Hey, Minho; I'm having some guy friends over on Friday, I was wondering if you wanted to tag along?" He said, softly smiling at him.

Minho looked at him in surprise, blinking a few times in bewilderment. He hadn't really known Jisung that long for him to be inviting him to get togethers, right? Not that he was particularly complaining as he did enjoy his company.

"Oh, um. Sorry Jisung, I have the boys this Friday night, Changbin only has them every other weekend and he had them last week. What's the occasion?"

"Ah. Felix's Mom has him _this Friday_. There's no occasion, just figured you needed some friends your own age around here! The boys are welcome to join if you want." Jisung laughed, rubbing the back of his nape.

Would it be weird, for him and the boys to come to Jisung's house without Felix being there? He'd totally feel out of place amongst Jisung's cool, probably single, guy friends.

"Pah... _Gee, thanks_." Minho scoffed, placing the lunchboxes on each of the boys' laps. "Is Felix still wanting to come over to our house this Saturday?"

"Oh totally, he's super excited. He's not had a sleepover in a long time." Jisung said excitedly, putting his hands in his pockets. Minho really wanted to stop and chat, but he was going to be late if he did.

"That's great. Well, I'll see about Friday. I'd love to come but I can't be sure yet!" He said in a rush. He darted around the other side of the car to the driver’s seat door, pulling it open. "Jeongin, pass the phone over. Seung, say hi to your Dad on the phone, quickly, quickly!" He strapped himself in frantically.

"I already said hi last time..." Seungmin moaned, throwing his head back and slumping his head against the headrest.

"Nice to see you Jisung, I'll let you know! Boys say goodbye to Mr. Han!" He shouted out of the window in the younger man's direction, before he started backing out of the driveway leaving Jisung standing a little perplexed on his lawn.

Seungmin and Jeongin waved at him as they pulled out on to the main road. Minho looked back at his reflection in the rear-view and took a deep breath.

"Hey, Dad." Seungmin said half-heartedly, uninspiringly taking the phone from Jeongin in the car. "Why'd you want to see me…?"

"Well, good morning to you too! I just wanted to say hi to my own Son?" Changbin scoffed. "Do you want me to come watch you at baseball this Saturday afternoon? I have a day off and I'd like to come and see you play."

"Hmmm..."

Minho looked at Seungmin thinking about his response in the mirror. Minho considered; if Changbin had the boys two weeks in a row, he'd be able to hang out with Jisung and his friends...

Minho was such a stickler for keeping to their set schedules though; if he backed out now, Changbin would more than likely take liberties on other weeks, knowing him.

They'd had enough arguments in the past about Changbin's spontaneous tickets to sporting events without Minho's permission and Minho had always maintained their custody agreements were important to keeping the boys ‘grounded’…

Jisung was right though, he really did need acquaintances his own age... That was definitely the only reason he wanted to go.

Definitely.

"Hmm. No. I don't think so." Seungmin said. "I don't feel well, so I don't think I'm going to play."

Minho looked back towards him from the reflection of the mirror again, confusion in his eyes. Seungmin hadn't said anything about being ill...

"Seung? You're probably just tired from staying up reading so late..." Minho said, loud enough so that Changbin could hear him. "Well, Bin it's nice of you to want to watch the boys play. If you want to have the boys again this weekend it would actually help me out a lot, as I have something on." Minho said, rather sweetly. So sweetly it was almost out of character.

"You sure? I don't have plans or anything. Is Jeongin still going to play in the under 8’s division?" Changbin said, a clearly a bit bewildered at Minho offering the boys up for two weeks in a row.

"Yep, he'll be playing." Minho said. Minho knew Changbin loved watching the boys play baseball; he seemed so proud of them when he did but their games tended to fall on Minho's weekend.

"Okay, well, that's fine, looks like I'll be having the boys two weekends in a row! Changbin said excitedly, making Jeongin clap and shout _'Yay!'_ over and over. "I'll text you the plans, Minho. I'll see you Friday night, Seung. Pass me back and let me say goodbye to Jeongin?"

Seungmin huffed under his breath and shoved the phone back into the chest of a more-than-joyful Jeongin.

"Bye Dad! We get to see each other two weeks in a row! I can't wait to see you at baseball. Bye, bye!" He made a kiss face at the phone, before Changbin hung up.

 **5:52pm** **🐱---**

 _ 17:52: _ ** Changbin **

I'm working until 6:30pm on Friday night so I'll be a little later than normal to collect them from yours. What do they need to bring to the game on Sat? x

 _ 17:53: _ ** Me **

Yeah, of course, no problem.

I'll get their kits and lunch ready the day before, don't worry.

They have to be home straight after club on Sat though, Jeongin is having a sleep over that night. x

 _ 17:54: _ ** Changbin **

Yeah, no prob, he's told me all about the new friend and the sleepover.

So, you got plans then? x

 _ 17:56: _ ** Me **

I wanted to go round a friend’s house on Friday so now that you've offered to have them, I can. 😊

Thanks for having them for me.

I owe you. x

 _ 17:58: _ ** Changbin **

You owe me, huh?

You getting lashed with the old ladies across the street again? You don't usually have book club on a Friday night? Thought that was more of a Tuesday thing?

 _ 17:59: _ ** Me **

... Ha ha. I have friends, thanks very much. x

 _ 18:01: _ ** Changbin **

Could've fooled me.

 _ 18:03: _ ** Me  **

…

Wow. You're seriously asking for it.

 _ 18:05: _ ** Changbin **

Steady now Min, save that kind of 'energy' for when I bring the boys back, eh?

 _ 18:07: _ ** Me **

You're unbelievable.

If you think you get the gift of my ‘energy’ two weeks in a row, you're sorely mistaken.

 _ 18:10: _ ** Changbin **

We'll see.

Wear those jeans you were wearing on Sunday night and I might not be able to hold back, though.

 _ 18:11 _ ** Me:  **

Filing that under: 'things your ex-husband should not say to you three years after you divorced'…

 _ 18:14: _ ** Changbin **

Ahahah.

I’ll see you Friday to get the boys x

 _ 18:15: _ ** Me **

See you then x

Minho looked up from his phone.

He wasn't sure if he felt glad that Changbin had noticed his new jeans, or mortified at himself for even humoring his flirting...

He glanced out of his window, drawing the curtain back across a bit. He could see Jisung sitting down on the grass, reading a book to Felix as he sat in his lap with his arms wrapped around him holding the book open. It looked like Felix was turning the pages for them. The front of the book had a big blue cat on it, and Minho had definitely picked up on Felix’s yearning for a cat. He could totally use it to his advantage.

He walked across to the area where Soonie was _soundly sleeping_ , and picked him up, waking him from his slumber with a little low-pitched mewl. He moved across front door and unlatched it, walking out and placing the cat firmly on the front mat.

“Go on then! As you want to be outside so badly!” Minho said to him, loudly enough for Felix and Jisung to hear him, Soonie looking back at him in total bewilderment.

“Hello there, Mr. Lee!” Felix said, noticing him at the is door. He started waving frantically at him and Jisung looked up to look at him too, with a soft smile as his cheek squished up against Felix’s.

“Hi there Felix, Jisung! Just letting the cat out, he was furiously meowing at the door for freedom!” he laughed. He’d have to make it up to Soonie at a later date for waking him up out of nowhere just to use as a conversation starter…

He wandered down his main path to the edge of his gate, watching Felix get up from his position to wander towards where Soonie had headed across the road.

“Careful Felix, don’t scare him!” Jisung said, raising to his feet as he watched him, shaking his head, and laughing at the sight of Felix tiptoeing across the road suddenly.

“Oh, I'm glad you're out here Jisung. I think I can make Friday night, if it’s still on?” Minho said in a relaxed fashion, acting totally casual about the whole thing. 

“That’s awesome Minho. Yeah, it’s still on! It’s just me and two other guys, but they’re my absolute best friends. I’m sure you’ll fit right in!” Jisung beamed at him, leaning against his gate nonchalantly.

Minho considered he shouldn’t think too far into this. Did introducing someone to your best friends seem platonic? It must be.

“And sorry in advance for _Hyunjin_. I can promise without a doubt he will definitely try and hit on you.” Jisung said, stifling a groan.

“Oh? Why is that?”

“He’s just kind of like that, he’ll hit on most guys if given half the opportunity--.”

“I see!” he retorted sarcastically. Minho hadn’t met many other guys his age that we’re openly out that would act that way around guys bluntly.

“--Especially guys as good looking as you are.” Jisung chuckled, looking back to check on Felix.

It was lucky he’d looked back to focus on Felix giving Soonie scritches under the chin, because otherwise he’d see Minho’s cheeks turn bright red at his comment. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chapter is all over the place, sorry about that xo  
> we stan seungmin in this house


	8. It Is The Green-Eyed Monster

**Friday, 7:38pm** **🐱---**

Minho swung the door open. He was already filled with fury at how late Changbin was, yet again. However, this time, he tried not to show it, as Changbin was actually doing him a solid by having the boys over for the night.

He pulled the door open, his biggest, pearly-white smile on display.

“Changbin! You’re here!” He said, looking back to the staircase and calling up. “Come on boys, Dad’s here to take you to his!”

“Wow, Minho. Are you wearing _leather_ pants?” Changbin said, suddenly eyeballing him head-to-toe like some piece of meat. It almost made him feel a bit self-conscious; but he still lapped the attention up, regardless. He must look somewhat decent, which is what he was going for. 

“They’re _pleather,_ actually.” He rolled his eyes.

“So, you’re dressing up for me now, huh?” Changbin said under his breath, biting at his lower lip.

“For _you?_ Pfft.”

“Daddy!” Jeongin hollered as he bounded down the stairs as brightly as usual. Once he reached the bottom, he firmly attached himself to Changbin’s thigh, swinging his kit bag in his hand around his legs as he did, tangling them up a bit.

“Easy, easy!” Changbin said, stroking the back of his head.

“I can’t believe we can stay around Dad’s for two weeks in a row!” Jeongin beamed.

“It’s only for tonight and for baseball tomorrow, Jeongie.” Changbin said, smiling at him.

“Still!”

Seungmin followed, traipsing down the stairs, sporting his new plain black hoodie and Day6 shirt combo. His headphones were wrapped around his neck and his tablet and English book tucked under his arm. Minho thought he looked like a _teeny, tiny, little_ college student.

“I’m ready to go.” He said, nonchalantly, before turning back to look at Minho.

“Try not to have too much fun without me Seung.” Minho kissed his forehead, then ruffled his hair, feeling the thick coating of hairspray that covered it.

“Dad, when you see Mr. Han today can you tell him that I finished Chapter 6 of _English Advanced_?” Seungmin said excitedly, zipping his hoodie up along the middle and hooking his bag over his shoulder. “I think he’ll be really impressed with me and then he said he would teach me about _Predicate Adjectives_ next!”

“What on Earth are _predicate adjectives_?” Changbin chuckled. He lifted Jeongin up in one big swoop to place him on the side of his waist against his hip, Jeongin’s arms immediately enveloping his neck. “And who’s Mr. Han?” Changbin said, cocking his head to the side. “Is that one of Seungmin’s teachers? Is there a parent, teacher meeting or something?”

“No! Mr. Han is our new neighbour. He is my new friend Felix’s Dad! They live at house 16. Dad is going to see him today at his house because Felix is at his Mom’s house today.” Jeongin replied, smiling at Changbin innocently.

Minho gulped.

“Oh, is he now?” Changbin looked back across to him, running his tongue across his top teeth. He let out a breathy laugh, then he shifted his focus, looking him up and down, focusing on the ‘pleather’ pants for a moment. “Well, that certainly sounds like it’s going to be _fun_ , Minho. I hope you have a _great time_.”

 **8:10pm** **🐱---**

"Your hallway is so… _Bright._ " Minho said, blinking, desperately trying to find a compliment to give to Jisung. Honestly, it wasn't to his particular taste. He'd become a little boring when it came to home décor once Changbin moved out. Beige was the new black, in his opinion. It was unassuming.

"Yeah, Lixie chose the color. He likes purple so we went with it." Jisung responded, taking his coat from him as he slipped into the hall and removed his shoes.

"It's... _Nice_ , kind of quirky." Minho quipped, slipping his shoes off, too. Jisung laughed and turned to look at him head on, a little smirk across his face.

"You're a terrible liar." Jisung said, hanging his coat on the stand next to the door.

"No, I mean it!" Minho laughed. "I think it's great that Felix can make rationalised, adult decisions, such as what colour to paint a room, at age 8..." Minho quipped, smiling at him.

"You're being sarcastic."

"What gave it away?"

They headed through the hall, the sound of the TV suddenly coming into earshot as they entered the living room. It was even brighter, with yellow decor. There were two black leather couches with light yellow cushions. It was totally different from the hallway. Minho wasn't sure there was a running theme at all; he was legitimately shocked at how obtuse it all was. Weirdly, it kind of matched the younger man’s energy, though.

As he walked through, he envisioned what Jisung's guy friends would be like. Probably all into the gym and sports and stuff, the usual. He kept himself in shape, but if they were going to talk about how much they bench pressed, he’d seriously rather not be here…

As he entered, though, he was greeted by the wide smiles of two very attractive men.

 _Honestly_ , 8 years of living on this street and he'd only been surrounded by old women and kids; suddenly there's not just one, but _three_ attractive men in his neighbourhood under one roof?

"Minho, this is Chan, and this is Hyunjin." Jisung said, gesturing towards them, respectively.

Hyunjin got up out of his chair immediately, waltzing across to come and shake his hand. He noticed that Hyunjin was particularly intense, his gaze was so still, and he maintained eye-contact throughout the entire handshake, which made Minho feel a little jittery. He was overwhelmingly attractive, almost model-like, lithe, and taller than the rest.

"So nice to meet you!" Hyunjin exclaimed. "Wow, Minho, Jisung didn't mention how handsome you were." He responded energetically. Minho stumbled over his breath a little, a bit taken aback by how forward the compliment was…

“Oh… Thank you.” He spluttered in surprise. 

"Reel it in Hyunjin! Let the man breathe, he only just got here and you’re already scaring him off." Chan responded, making his own way off of the sofa to come and shake his hand too. His handshake was a little rougher. "Hi, I’m Chan. Nice to meet you Minho."

"Nice to meet you both.” He said, bowing a little.

"Right, introduction over. How about beers?" Jisung asked, clapping his hands together suddenly.

Minho obviously accepted because that's what friends do, right? He really needed to start bringing his own alcohol over to Jisung's whenever he ended up here. The taste of lager made him want to gag but he was way too insecure in front of strangers to be seen as someone who ‘couldn't handle it’...

They all settled on the two couches, Jisung and Chan on one, and Minho sat fairly awkwardly next to Hyunjin on the other, just because it was closer and he felt too awkward to _ask_ to sit next to Jisung, instead.

They watched a music channel as they chatted amongst themselves. Jisung had been slipping in and out of the room to get food and beer throughout the night, which Chan was actively devouring way quicker than Jisung could top it up.

He even bought a bottle of white wine through, which Minho greatly appreciated after the lagers. Minho made a mental note that Jisung _didn’t even have coasters_ , it made him reel a little. He ended up holding his white wine in his hands as he couldn't bring himself to put it on the table and make a mark. It made the wine hideously warm.

Throughout their conversations he found out Chan was the oldest, though he could tell near enough straight away even without the confirmation. He also learnt that Hyunjin was also a teacher at the high school Jisung worked at. He taught drama and theatre study, which was also totally _not_ a surprise, considering how loud he was. The man exuberated even more chaotic energy than Jisung, which was quite the feat... 

Jisung’s bright personality definitely matched the other boys. They were obviously all quite close, which made Minho feel a slight level of awkwardness when they started, as he couldn’t really relate to what they were talking about when they referred to their ‘college days’...

Throughout the night he settled in though, and he did actually start to feel content _just being there_ with people his own age. Plus, the wine helped.

At some point, the guitar came out again. Minho loved listening to Jisung sing and it was even better when Chan harmonised with him. They sang a song that they remembered writing together in college. Minho couldn’t help but gawk at how dreamy Jisung was when he sang.

His vocal tone was so refreshing. He usually only really heard him from afar across the road, but it was even better up close. Minho could see the passion rising out of him, holding on to every word, and it made him tingle.

“I think we should take a shot every time Jisung insists on singing a cringy love song!” Hyunjin whined, putting his hand up immediately. “Can’t we play something more upbeat?! This is depressing!” He said, launching a cushion at him with his other hand.

“Shots?! Oh god, remember when we were in second year and we did 30 shots between us in the campus gym after it closed?” Chan said, eyes wide open as he suddenly reminisced, clicking his fingers as if it would help him remember.

“Oh yeah! Man, I was _not_ in a good way!” Hyunjin retorted, becoming animated again.

"What?! I don't even remember that happening?!" Jisung added.

"That's because you weren't there Sung. We did 30 between us _two_!” Chan squawked, clutching at his stomach. “It was horrific!”

“Why would you drink without me, where was I?!”

“You were dating that _weird dude_ that had the piercings and the tattoos for like three months and we barely saw you because you were so whipped for a 'bad boy'!"

"Oh, yeah! God, don't remind me..." Jisung laughed, swigging at his bottle. The other boys all started laughing at his expense.

 _Hold the phone,_ Minho thought.

“By the end of the night Hyunjin ended up in the pool completely naked and I broke _two_ ellipticals and fell asleep in the corner on the rolled up pile of yoga mats!” Chan cackled.

“I told you, I just feel the need to skinny-dip when I drink! _You’re welcome!_ ” Hyunjin exclaimed.

"You dated guys?" Minho asked Jisung immediately, not even _registering_ that literally no one else but him was hung up on the previous comment.

"Oh, of course, mostly in college." Jisung laughed casually.

 _Typical_ , Minho thought. Was he cursed?

"Oh, like just _hook ups_ or..."

Chan suddenly burst into laughter again as Hyunjin suddenly slapped his hand on Minho's shoulder, shaking his head.

"Hook ups? _Jisung?!_ No, no. _Hyunjin_ is the hook-up King. Jisung is the most romantic, corny jackass I've ever met.” Chan bellowed.

“I don't think he's ever had a one-nighter with anyone he didn't end up proposing to, guy or girl!" Hyunjin followed up. Chan laughed violently, Hyunjin joining immediately after, jolting Minho as he did, nearly spilling his drink.

"Okay, okay, I get it! Thanks guys...!" Jisung took a swig of his beer in annoyance, chuckling to himself.

It suddenly hit Minho like a freight train. Jisung was open to dating guys in a way that wasn't just casual... He looked around the room unceremoniously laughing along, hoping that no one had picked up on his _sudden enthusiasm_ in the conversation. He was sure he'd probably given himself away by asking such an obvious question, but his tipsiness kept slipping through the cracks.

Suddenly he thought that all his trying to convince himself that he and Jisung could only possibly be platonic, could have actually been misguided? This was a total game-changer.

"Then I met the 'love of my life' though, then had a kid with her, so joke’s on you guys." Jisung retorted, sticking his tongue out at them.

 _And_ , just like that, the game was over...

"You and the _'love of your life'_ didn't last long, 'Sung.” Chan said, punctuating the statement sarcastically with his fingers. “Plus, you say that about everyone you date, how many ' _loves of your life's'_ have you had?!"

Chan and Hyunjin were near enough crying with laughter at this point; it was pretty infectious, and Minho couldn’t help but snicker along.

"Hey now! I'm just a naturally affectionate person! And no, well, _at the time_ I thought she was the love of my life!” Jisung scoffed. “Besides, Lixie is the love of my life so least I got him out of that whole disaster!"

Jisung started pouting, clearly unimpressed with the way the conversation had flipped on him so drastically.

"This is why relationships are overrated Jisung. Casual dating for me until I'm eighty." Hyunjin said, with his hand on his heart. "Relationships are way too messy!" He looked at Minho for a split second, before looking back to Jisung.

"Yeah, tell me about it. God knows what I saw in her. Honestly, when I told her that Felix was staying at a friend’s tomorrow so she couldn't have him the whole weekend like normal, she seemed _happy_ about it. She honestly couldn't _wait_ to hand him over to me because she had ‘stuff on’. I have no idea what I was thinking back then." Jisung said, downing the rest of his bottle and rolling his eyes.

"Yeah well, I'm still sleeping with my ex after three years of being divorced, so there's that..."

The entire room went deathly silent before Minho had even realised what he'd just said, out loud. He looked back up from his glass and noticed that everyone in the room had turned to look at him. 

"You're still sleeping with your ex-husband?" Jisung asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yep." Minho said, matter-of-factly with a little exhale, looking again down at his wine glass.

"Is he... _Hot?"_ Hyunjin asked, suddenly perking up.

"Oh. Totally."

“Nice!” Hyunjin exclaimed, giving him a high-five, which Minho accepted; starting to feel a bit more like ‘one of the group’. 

"Wait, when?-" Jisung enquired.

"Usually when he drops the boys back around my house. It's usually late-ish."

"Every other weekend?-"

"Yep, like clockwork. Can't even stop myself." Minho took a half-assed swig of his now warm drink, totally ignoring how rancid it’d become. "Don't get me wrong. We'd never work out, that's why we separated; because we're too different from each other. I can't deny it though… I kinda have a thing for arms, I guess..." He laughed.

"Well, not to brag but..." Chan said, pulling his sleeve up and tensing up his arm muscles suddenly.

"Channie, you don't even swing that way, stop flirting with Jisung's friend!" Hyunjin exclaimed dramatically, causing them all to burst into laughter, again.

All apart from Jisung. 

**10:13pm** 🐿️ **\---**

Why the hell was he annoyed that Minho was sleeping with his ex?

It wasn't exactly any of his business.

He knew those kinds of situations were pretty toxic though, and he'd never want to see Minho or his boys hurt.

He sat and begrudgingly watched as Chan flexed his arm muscles in front of Minho. He knew he had decent-ish arms, he couldn't compare with Chan, or Changbin, though.

"Yeah, not bad... Not quite my ex's level though..." Minho scoffed with a little smirk on his face, eyeing up Chan's arms as he flexed.

Hyunjin started giggling, quickly joining in with the flexing show.

Jisung hadn't seen Minho so loose, so he never expected those kinds of words to fall out of his mouth.

Maybe he wasn't so _uptight_ , Jisung thought.

He looked around the room, his mind a little foggy from the beer and the new information.

He watched Minho, who was starting to rather messily laughing along with his friends, his body much sloppier and his gestures much larger than before.

He still looked good, but a bit more ‘undone’ than normal, his hair was a bit less perfect looking.

If he didn't know any better, he'd almost say Minho was flirting with them, especially Hyunjin, who was annoyingly, still sitting next to him.

He was giving him soft touches to the arm or laughing a bit too hard at certain comments they’d both make.

“Minho, you are so much less uptight than Jisung said!” Hyunjin laughed. “I seriously thought you’d be boring! No offense!”

Minho’s eyes darted back to him; his mouth comically wide.

“You said I was uptight?!” Minho scoffed, having a bit of trouble trying to control his volume through the alcohol.

“No, no! I meant like… Your job is… _Your job_ is kinda dull! Not you, _personally_!” he said, desperately trying to deflect from the situation.

He was kind of lying; he _had_ told Chan and Hyunjin that Minho was uptight.

Mostly because he didn’t really want Hyunjin to make a move on him.

“It’s okay Jisung, I’m just joking. I’m not actually offended.” Minho said, giggling back at him warmly.

Jisung noticed him shifting, relaxing more towards Hyunjin than earlier in the night. Hyunjin had even started leaning into him a little bit too, showing him some funny video on his phone every now and then.

Then, he noticed Hyunjin’s hand slipping a bit too close to Minho’s leg for his own comfort.

“Hyunjin, can you help me get some beers in from the garage?” Jisung said, looking at him with wide eyes.

“I can help, if you want, Jisung?” Chan said, obviously confused as to why Jisung would ask the weaker of the two to help him carry crates of beer.

"Hyunjin?" He snapped. 

“Uh, sure, no problem.” Hyunjin retorted, lifting himself up from the couch.

Jisung grabbed Hyunjin’s arm as they exited and led him out of the room to the garage.

\--

 **11:52pm** **🐱---**

 _23:52: _ ** Changbin **

So

how did your date go then?

 _23:54: _ ** Me **

It wasn’t a date Changbin.

It was jhus t me and a few other guys hanging out

Cute that you’re jealous, though/.

 _23:55: _ ** Changbin **

Had a few to drink too? Ahahah bless.

What’s gotten in to you Min? x

 _23:57: _ ** Me **

Well, only you

if that’s what information you’re trying to get outof me. x

 _23:58: _ ** Changbin **

Holy shit wow

How many have you had? x

 _23:59: _ ** Me **

Not a lot. Maybe 5 or 6 x

 _00:01: _ ** Changbin **

Thinking about you being around other guys, drinking, in those pants has got me feeling a bit…

maybe a bit possessive?

Though I know you like it when I’m like that ;) … x

 _00:02: _ ** Me **

Not reallym.

You don’t own me Bin

We’re not otgether

 _00:04 _ ** Changbin **

It was just a joke… x

 _00:06: _ ** Me **

Yeah I do nknow.

Everything’s ‘just a joke’ with you.

 _00:08: _ ** Changbin **

Sheesh, lighten up…?

 _00:10 _ ** Me: **

Why don’t you, fun-sponge?

 _00:12: _ ** Changbin **

Pfft. Ok then, whatever.

I’ll see you tomorrow when I drop the boys back.

Maybe next time I’ll think twice about taking the boys off your hands just so that you can get trashed with a bunch of dudes you barely know.

 _00:14 _ ** Me: **

It was litearlly one night

as if spending time with your own k ids is such a burden

soryr

I didn’t mean that

sorry

_Read **00:15**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> in my head everyone's whipped for lino and i'm not sorry about it


	9. Yonder Window Breaks

**Saturday, 5:05pm** **🐱---**

Both of the boys rushed in through the door, Jeongin’s baseball kit totally covered in what Minho could only assume was mint chocolate. Seungmin had his hood up and one headphone still in whilst the other was loosely wrapped around the back of his neck, sticking out of his grey hoodie. He obviously decided not to play, today.

“Dad! I’m going to get ready for when Felix comes around!” Jeongin said excitedly. “Is there clean clothes upstairs? Can I please pick?” Jeongin said, tugging at Minho’s navy cardigan from the bottom. Minho knelt down to him to wipe the sticky green ice-cream off of the corner of his mouth with his thumbs.

“Yep. Clothes are in your drawers Jeongin, you can choose today. Be sensible though, okay?”

“Thanks, I will!” He said, before turning back to Changbin. “Bye Daddy. Thanks for watching the baseball!” Jeongin beamed, scoring a reaffirming head pat or two from Changbin, who proceeded to scoop him up in his arms and squeeze him tightly.

“No problem Jeongie. You were absolutely amazing today, my little winner!” he said, scratching at his stomach, which made the boy burst into laughter. Jeongin absolutely could not handle tickling whatsoever, so Changbin knew only to tickle him for a few seconds before he’d start thrashing about.

“Eurgh…” Seungmin groaned, rolling his eyes at the exchange before unzipping his hoodie. “Dad, can I use the tablet after I’ve finished my homework today? I want to watch a livestream.” Seungmin asked him.

“Of course, Seung.” Minho responded sweetly.

With that, Seungmin was putting his other headphone back in heading up to his room. Jeongin headed upstairs too, waving Changbin goodbye as he left.

“Changbin, Club finished at half 3. Where have you been?” Minho asked.

“Don’t start, Minho. I took the boys to get a soda and Jeongin wanted ice cream. Chill out, seriously.” He responded, shaking his head at him.

“I told you they needed to be home as soon as club finished because Jeongin is having a friend—"

"Oh, because you're a _total stickler_ for the plans again, all of a sudden?" Changbin retorted in an accusatory tone. He crossed his arms tightly over his upper body, pushing his torso out like he always did. He leant against the inside of the door frame in the most patronising way possible...

“Excuse me?”

"Seems like the ‘plans’ we make only really work out in _your_ favour, Minho.”

Minho fought back the annoyance bubbling up inside of him as per usual, and tried to remain as calm as possible.

“Oh come on. Is this about last night?” He whined, rolling his eyes at him.

“Not at all, I'm totally fine with you throwing yourself around whilst I look after our kids on your weekend."

"My _weekend?_ Excuse you, they _live_ _with me_ , I don’t have a _‘weekend'_. You're being incredibly petty, you know that?"

“Unbelievable.”

"Look, Bin. I'm sorry what I wrote when I was drunk, I didn't actually mean it."

Changbin abruptly stepped through the door and pointed his index finger directly at Minho’s face, taking him aback.

"Don't you dare say that the boys are ever a burden to me. I'd see them every day if I could and you know it." Minho knew he wasn’t being aggressive, but he certainly did let his emotions get the better of him sometimes. He could hear the hurt in his voice.

"I know, Bin, I'm sorry. Really, I am. I was just drunk; it was stupid of me and I apologise, okay?” He said, putting his hands up defensively. “Look, I don’t often apologise first, so take it or leave it, I really don’t care.”

“Fine.” He exhaled, letting his arm flop down to his side. “Just know that I only act the way I do because I do actually care about the boys, and you, Min. It makes me nervous, you in a place with people you barely know especially when you’re drinking.”

“Oh, Changbin please, I’m a grown man! I don’t need you watching over me all the time. I’ve known Jisung for weeks now, we get on really well.”

“Yeah. So I’ve heard. I’ve heard you get on _really well_ when _Felix is at his Mom’s_ and the boys aren’t home, especially.” He smirked, trying to play it off but totally failing to hide his jealousy.

“Green doesn’t suit you; you know.” Minho snapped back, his eyes narrowing in exasperation.

“I’ve seen him, by the way. The dude from across the road with the guitar, right?” Minho tensed up a little. “He was gawking at me when I got out of the car the other day. I wasn’t sure if he wanted to fight me or f--”

“—You’re ridiculous.” Minho scoffed, cutting him off.

“I’ve obviously rubbed off on you Min." Changbin said, cockily, licking his bottom lip. "You’re even dating guys that dress like me.”

“Oh please. You don’t own baseball caps and the colour black; you know….” Minho huffed.

“So, you _are_ dating him then?” He said suddenly, looking back to him.

“Oh for—What are we, teenagers?! We’re not dating, Changbin.”

“Oh, well, that’s good, because if you were, I couldn’t do this.”

Changbin quickly laced his fingers through Minho's hair on either side of his face, pulling him in to a kiss. Adrenaline suddenly rushed through Minho's body.

It was less _sensual_ of a kiss than normal but still as needy as ever. Changbin was actually being softer than he would normally be, his lips moving at an agonisingly slower pace than usual; it almost seemed more romantic than their usual rendezvous’. Minho pulled away before he got carried away.

“Bin! It’s the middle of the day!” He shoved him backwards as soon as he realised that he was _somewhat_ enjoying the change of pace. He looked around anxiously to make sure the boys weren’t in view of them. “The boys have plans today. You need to go. We can’t, you know that we can’t. Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, it’s the middle of the afternoon and I—”

“Minho. It’s fine. I’m going.”

 **5:35pm** **🐱---**

Felix was wearing a little light blue button up and dungarees. On the top of his head, was a little perched, fuzzy, white beret. It was pretty much the cutest little ensemble he'd ever seen. He really needed to take some pointers. He imagined Seung would probably scoff at the idea of wearing dungarees but Jeongin likely wouldn't be totally opposed.

He was holding a little pastel pink rucksack neatly in front of him, likely carrying all his cute little sleepover necessities. Jisung standing proudly behind him on the doorstep, looking cute as ever, too.

"Hello, Mr. Lee!"

"Well hi there Felix, come on in!"

"Thanks for having him! He's super excited, aren't you Felix?" Jisung said, guiding him forward.

"Yes! I am! Very excited! Thank you, Mr Lee." The blonde boy gleamed, squeezing his bag to his chest.

"Hi Lixie..." Jeongin said quietly, peeking his head out and waving from behind Minho's leg.

"Hi Jeongie!" Felix exclaimed, waving back excitedly.

Felix dashed past him and stood in front of Jeongin, looking at him for a few seconds with a smile on his face. He put his arms out wide suddenly as if to ask for a hug. Jeongin looked back at Minho, as if _asking for permission_ to hug the boy back.

"It's okay, Jeongin." Minho chuckled.

Jeongin put his arms out and hugged Felix back, patting him on the back with his fingers spread out wide. Minho could hear the little _'thump'_ of his hand each pat. He hoped he wasn't being too heavy handed with it... He didn't often hug other kids. Jisung looked at them, smiling. He put his hands in his pockets, standing at the door just lovingly watching them interact.

"Do you want to come in for a bit, Jisung?" Minho asked.

"Oh, no, it's okay I don't want to intrude or anything!"

"Nonsense, come on. You fed me yesterday. I put some BBQ pulled-pork on for the boys, it's going ready soonish."

"Well, how could I refuse such a generous offer?"

Minho wandered through the cream hallway, showing Felix to the kitchen, where he'd laid out a little assortment of snacks for the boys to take upstairs for their sleepover on the counter.

Seungmin was in the study, which was somewhat attached to the living room, with just an open frame to separate the little cubby. He was sitting at the computer desk doing his homework before his concert livestream started. Jisung shimmied through as he noticed him and his face lit up as soon as he heard Jisung's voice greeting him. The older man wandered behind his chair, putting his hand on it, and leaning over top of Seungmin's head to look at the answers he'd written on his assignment. He pointed at one of the answers.

"See this one, 9, here, under ‘ _Compound Adjectives’_? You can use _'well-known'_ in this sentence and it would make more sense to an English-speaking person. You're not wrong, but ' _well-known_ ' might work better." 

"Well-known? Wait, you're right. Yeah it would! Thanks Mr. Han." Seungmin replied, grinning from ear-to-ear.

"No problem, everything else looks great, Seungmin. You’re really so good at this!"

Minho had never seen Jisung in his 'teacher' element. Although Jisung taught older children, he seemed to just have a way with everyone. Minho listened in, not understanding what on Earth they were talking about.

Jisung wandered back through to find Felix again, who was sitting in the kitchen at one of the counter island stools, sipping grape juice from a carton with all his might until his cheeks were practically concave. Jeongin was copying him, seeing who could suck their whole drink up the straw the quickest.

"Felix, do you want to show Jeongin what you made?" Jisung said enthusiastically.

Minho really hoped glitter wasn't involved, this time. He'd just vacuumed...

“Oh yeah! I will show him!”

The small blonde boy unzipped his bag and pulled out a creased drawing on a pastel-pink, folded-up piece of paper. It was a drawing of a light-pink fox and a blue cat, sitting next to each other with _'Jeongie and Lixie'_ written above each character. Minho was ready to burst at how cute Felix was.

“Is this for me?” Jeongin asked, pointing at himself with a bewildered look on his face.

“Yes, I drew it for you!”

“Wow! Thank you, Felix!” He said, taking it in his hands, his mouth wide open as he looked at it.

"Do you want a fruit tea, or coffee, or anything whilst dinner's on, Jisung?" Minho said, fetching his own _'World's Best Nag'_ mug from one of the cupboards.

"Oh, sure. Coffee would be fine. Black, one sugar, thanks." Jisung said.

"The food smells really nice, Mr. Lee!" Felix exclaimed, kicking his legs backwards and forwards on the stool, twanging the metal legs. Jeongin quickly followed suit, making even more noise.

"Well I hope you like it, Felix. Probably about 30-ish minutes until it's ready!" Minho said, pouring the coffee in to two mugs and handing one across to Jisung.

"Dad, can I show Felix my room while we wait? I want to show him my plushies." Jeongin asked quietly, Felix nodding excitedly at the prospect of meeting the stuffed colony.

"Of course, sweetheart." Minho said, placing a reaffirming hand on his back and rubbing little circles across it. Minho helped him down from the stool, placing his coffee down and lifting him up of the chair under his arms. Felix on the other hand jumped straight off on his own. Felix grabbed at Jeongin's arm and they bounded out of the room, Felix actually leading, even though he had no clue where Jeongin's room actually was.

"Careful, Felix! You know you're grabby when you're excited!" Jisung shouted to him. "Be gentle!" He bellowed out of the room, stifling a laugh.

Minho invited Jisung back into the living room, sliding him a coaster across the glass coffee table, _heavily insinuating_ he wanted them to use them before they left marks... Minho sat on one cream sofa, whilst Jisung opted to stand, taking in the sunlight from his sliding glass door that lead out to his back yard.

"Your house is so beautiful, Minho." He said.

Minho watched as Jisung looked around his living room; it almost made him nervous for some reason. He intently scanned the large, beech-wood bookcase in the corner. There were three little cacti and a few photos of the boys at a holiday park from a few years back on one of the shelves, and the rest contained Minho’s novels he used to read when the boys used to actually take naps. Jisung started sliding his finger along the spines of each one.

He slowly pulled out one of the two ' _spicy_ ' novellas he'd bought a few months back and not actually gotten around to read. Before Jisung could even say anything he immediately panicked, scrambling to defend himself from the awkward situation that was clearly about to occur…

"Oh, I haven't read that, or anything!" Minho said defensively, rising to his feet from the couch. Jisung just laughed, opening the book up and sifting through the pages with a grin on his face.

"Why'd you have it if you're not gonna read it?" Jisung whispered. He wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

"Honestly, I thought it would be interesting, but I don't even have time to read these days!" Minho sighed through the awkwardness, rubbing at his nape.

"Well, we have time _now_. Why don't we read a bit now, as it's here?" Jisung teased, locking eyes with him instantly from across the room.

"Oh god. What?"

"… _He felt his scorching hand tantalising down his inner thigh_ -"

"Oh my G- Please, stop!" Minho begged, darting across the room, and grabbing at the book a few times whilst Jisung pulled back to continue reading, guarding it with his hand across Minho’s chest. He was hoping that Seungmin wouldn’t be able to hear them from the study, not that he’d have a single clue what they were talking about.

" _…as he began to slide his hand under his._.."

Minho quickly grabbed the book out of his hand, immediately launching it under his arm into his armpit. Jisung was just chuckling away to himself, looking fairly pleased at how flustered he’d made the older man.

"Stop talking, please for the love of everything that's holy in this world." Minho scoffed, covering his eyes with his other hand, totally mortified.

"You were right, you're totally not as uptight as I thought." Jisung chuckled, winking in his direction. 

"Oh please, I haven't even read it! You can have it if you want, I'm sure you'll find more worth in it than I do!"

"Thanks, but that's not really my style, I'm more of a _romantic_ type, you know?" Jisung said dramatically, holding his hand to his chest.

"Makes sense I guess, seeing you serenade the women on my street at _ass-O'Clock_.” Minho teased back, folding his arms across his chest and rolling his eyes.

"Pah. I just enjoy the early morning air; I don't do it for an audience!”

"Whatever. Most people don't play guitar at the crack of dawn semi-shirtless; you show off." Minho scoffed, walking back across, and placing the book back in its’ slot on the shelf.

"Oh? And who am I showing off to, then? The fifty-year-old neighbour on my right or the seventy-year-old neighbour on my left?"

" _Fifty?!_ Ms. Park is only 37. She'll kill you if she finds out you said that! She won't be your biggest fan anymore."

"No big loss... Anyway, aren't you my biggest fan? I see you outside more than anyone else most days?" He said, looking pretty proud of himself... 

Minho's eyes widened in horror. He thought he'd been as subtle as possible, trying to not be out there every day, or even every other day. Maybe Jisung had caught on to his 'pattern'...

"E-Excuse me, I have a cat that is the spawn of Satan, I get a free pass to be outside!" Minho retorted, huffing a little.

"What, this little guy?" Jisung said, pointing to a soundly sleeping Soonie rolled up on Jeongin's purple blanket on the other two-seater couch.

"No, that's not the one!" Minho laughed.

Minho slipped back across to the couch, setting himself down again. He shook his head at Jisung, chuckling softly, and took a sip of his coffee.

"So, that guy in the black t-shirt I saw earlier, in the red mercedes, that was your boys' Dad, right?" Jisung said, bringing the conversation back around.

"Oh, you saw him? Yeah, that's Changbin, my ex-husband. He dropped the boys back at like, 4:30ish…" Minho said, nonchalantly. Actually, it was more like 5:10pm...

" _Changbin_. He's honestly shorter than I would have imagined." Jisung said with a throaty laugh.

"Pah, bet you wouldn't say that to his face, though, would you?"

"Absolutely not a chance in hell. Guy looks like he could sneeze on me and I'd snap in two." Jisung said, falling down on the other side of the same couch. "I mean, he must have something decent about him, if you're still... You know."

"Oh! God, I'd forgotten I'd told you that..." Minho said, utterly mortified, placing his coffee back down and covering his face with his hands. He suddenly thought to himself; he hoped that Jisung hadn't seen Changbin kiss him earlier, if he was in fact, watching. Though Minho was sure he'd probably mention something if he had... 

"Not to get involved or anything, but is that, like, a good idea? I mean, I'm not judging or anything. Plus, I don't even really have any experience in that kind of thing, but every movie I've ever seen pretty much confirms that's always a bad move to sleep with your ex." Jisung said.

"No, you're totally right. It's not a good move, at all. I've tried to call it off, numerous times." Minho sighed. 

He was kind of lying. Only a little. He had verbally tried to call it off many times. Physically, was a slightly different story...

"Tried to?"

"Well..."

He looked to Jisung for a moment, staring into his dark eyes from across the couch. He considered Jisung was the only person around here that he felt almost comfortable enough to share a little with. He didn't feel the same embarrassment that he felt before, especially after yesterday. 

"Have you ever wanted, just to be, I don't know... _Appreciated?_ Or like, thought about by someone?" Minho said. He wasn’t really sure how to word it. 

"Of course, Minho. I think everyone thinks like that sometimes." Jisung responded, nodding at him.

"Sometimes, I even... This sounds so, _so_ dumb..." He pushed his hands through his hair, and sighed, before looking back to Jisung. "I kind of _make myself up_ a little, for when he comes over? Not like anything crazy but... I just feel like I want to show him that I'm not falling apart without him or anything...” He looked away, suddenly embarrassed. He thought Jisung would probably think he was pathetic. "Actually, never mind, it's dumb."

"It's not dumb, it's totally normal to want to feel attractive." Jisung said, reaching across to touch his hand gently. 

"Yeah, not for the man you broke up with three years ago, though." Minho sighed.

"You're a _total catch_ though, Minho. I'm sure if you moved out of your comfort zone a little, you'd find someone who would give you something better than just, _that._ "

"My entire life is a comfort zone, Jisung." He laughed, gesturing around to his pristine living room. He _did_ wish he could relax a little sometimes, but it wasn’t easy for him like it was for Changbin.

"Oh, well, on that note. Hyunjin wanted me to give you this..." Jisung leant to one side, slipping out a little folded piece of notepad paper from his back pocket. "It's his phone number... He said he really liked meeting you yesterday..."

"Oh, wow. Really?" Minho said, blinking a few times in total disbelief, taking the piece of paper, and scanning over the number.

"Just know, Hyunjin is a good friend of mine, has been for years and I love him to pieces but..."

"I mean, I'm not going to _corrupt him_ , if that's what you're implying. I'm in my boring little _'comfort zone'_ , remember?" Minho laughed.

"It's not that. He's kind of... A bit of a wild card, too. He's not really the _relationship type_ , either. So if that's what you're looking for... I don't know, be careful, maybe... Or not. It's your decision. Yeah..."

Minho looked at him stumbling over his words. He couldn't quite gage what was going on in his head. Did he actually want him to message Hyunjin, or not? His words didn't seem to align with the slightly soured expression on his face…

"Well, we seemed to get on well, I think. If you think I should get out of my comfort zone, maybe I'll try and plan something with him?"

 **5:57pm** **🐿️---**

That was not what Jisung was implying at all.

Like, _at all._

When he said he thought Minho should 'loosen up' he didn't mean end up in bed with his best friend after meeting him once.

This was dumb.

He should have just told Hyunjin that he'd given Minho his number and that Minho just wasn't interested in following anything up.

Though, knowing Hyunjin, he'd probably reject the possibility that anyone would even consider snubbing his advances.

Jisung wasn't sure if he was even hiding his annoyance at this point.

Every time he looked across at Minho, he felt that same feeling as before.

He couldn't deny the instant attraction that was clearly there.

There was no other explanation for how jealous he was feeling hearing Minho refer to Hyunjin as good-looking.

Plus, when Minho had told him that he'd been almost 'dressing up' for Changbin, it sent a fire through his veins.

Though it was almost funny, because Jisung had been doing the exact same thing for Minho.

He didn't often just do his gardening shirtless, that's for sure.

"Do you wanna watch TV, or something whilst we wait for dinner to be ready?" Minho asked him politely.

"You're not gonna whip out some _Fifty Shades of Grey_ , or something, are you, _Mr. Comfort Zone_?" Jisung said.

"Jisung, I have two erotic novels that I _haven't even read_... Stop treating me like I'm some kind of deviant!" Minho murmured, his voice seemed to get quieter towards the end of the sentence, lowering so Seungmin couldn’t hear their conversation.

"Hey, I never said I minded!" Jisung laughed.

Jisung shimmied himself closer to Minho on the couch, he would usually put his feet up, but he could tell Minho was probably the kind of person who didn't like that kind of thing.

"Scoot over, then." He said, spreading his legs out to get comfortable.

“Sheesh. How far do you want me to scoot? Off the couch?” Minho chuckled, shoving his leg playfully back towards his side with his own, and spreading his out in the space between them instead.

They relaxed for a while, settling in to a little silence, and watched about twenty minutes of some funny cop show that Minho clearly wasn’t interested in.

He felt a bit daring, and gently rested his head on Minho's shoulder, just to gage a reaction from him, if anything.

He smelt a bit like vanilla.

If Minho backed away, he could just make out like it was normal behaviour for him.

Hyunjin was pretty platonically affectionate, so skinship wasn't exactly unusual to his group of friends.

Minho didn’t seem to mind though, luckily.

Or at least, he didn’t say anything.

 **6:05pm** **🐱---**

Something was different.

Minho had pretty much confirmed that Jisung was _perhaps_ , on the table. The mixed signals were driving him insane, though. He was wracking his brain; here was Jisung, head on his shoulder, relaxing with him on a Saturday night when both of their kids were playing upstairs. It was grossly domestic. 

Most parents would revel in their kids being out of the house for a little while and more than likely plan to do something debaucherous or exciting whilst they had the chance. But here they were, at Minho's house, together, watching some _atrocious_ police show...

It was so comfortable, Minho could smell Jisung's coconut shampoo under his nose. Strangely, the coconut smell was mixed with what Minho could only describe as the smell of _acrylic paint_ , though that was probably Felix’s doing…

In his mind, he was trying to decide if messaging Hyunjin was a good idea. On one hand, he was totally honoured that someone so attractive would possibly want him. On the other hand, having another Changbin-type situation didn’t sit well with his conscience.

Plus, there was Jisung; and Jisung felt, different. 

Suddenly, Dori jumped in through the open window. The dramatic entrance causing the glass vase full of lilies that Minho had sitting on the windowsill to fall off the ledge and shatter. She latched on to the curtain, getting her claws caught in the fabric and thrashing about. Both of them jumped to their feet, the commotion causing Jisung to _launch_ his black coffee in the air.

"Oh my God!" Minho screamed. "Dori!" He skidded across to the window and grabbed her, plucking her claws out from the linen, ripping tiny thread lines in the fabric. He tossed her down on the floor and quickly shuffled out past the coffee table, running in to the kitchen to grab a dustpan and brush, as well as paper towels and stain remover before his cream couch was totally ruined.

He ran back in, squirting the foam down on the area that Jisung had launched his coffee at, rubbing at it frantically.

"I'm so sorry Minho!" Jisung said, looking like a deer in headlights, flapping his arms around. 

"It's okay, it's okay! It's not your fault!" Minho retorted, trying to make sure Jisung know that he wasn't mad at him personally. " _That one_ , is the demon cat, by the way!"

Jisung chuckled as he used the paper towels he had brought in from the kitchen to dab at his cushions, which had also been unceremoniously pebble-dashed in coffee... Minho sighed. There was no way this was coming out easily. He turned his attention back to the cat, dashing over to sweep up the remnants of his favourite vase so it didn't end up in Soonie's toes... Lastly, he turned his attention back to Jisung.

"It's all over you Jisung, did you burn yourself?!" He said, dabbing at his chest with another towel.

"No, I'm totally fine, no worries!"

"You're soaked! Your shirt is ruined. Let me grab you something!"

"It's okay Minho, I only live over there, I can grab something." Jisung chuckled.

"Nonsense, one sec!" Minho darted out of the room again back to the kitchen to grab Jisung a plain, black long-sleeve shirt to wear from the folded-up pile of clothes sitting next to the washing machine. He ran back through to the living room. Jisung suddenly peeled off his soaked shirt, the coffee sticking to him as he took it off. Completely off. Minho fumbled for a moment, trying to play it off as casually as he could…

“H-here, you can wear this.” He said, throwing it across to him.

“Thanks, you didn’t have to.” Jisung said, reaching into the bottom of the shirt and slipping it over his head. Minho took the _split few seconds_ Jisung’s vision was obscured by the shirt to _unashamedly_ stare at his abdominals... He made sure to look back up though as he resurfaced from the shirt, though.

“I-uh, think the timer’s going off… We should eat.” Minho spluttered. Jisung watched him and laughed, it was obvious he’d been caught out.

"Sounds great!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'ALL. i'm shaking y'all the Seungsung Congratulations duet coupled with how much I love their interactions in this fic and looking at my last Tag from the chapter before asfjdhfglfgsl;dkjf  
> (go stream it; it's honestly amazing! vocals for days!)
> 
> ANYWAY. This is a lot longer than normal, simply because I am going away for a week so I won't be updating for a bit! We get some actual Minsung development in this chapter, who'd have thought?! Next chapter Changbin and Jisung meet so I'm super excited to finish that chapter off when I get back!
> 
> Hope you enjoy xx


	10. We Will All Laugh At Gilded Butterflies

**Wednesday, 6:02pm** **🐱---**

"Changbin?" He said, as he pulled the door open, a confused look on his face.

"I tried to call but you weren't answering?" The younger man grunted, hands in his pockets.

"Oh, sorry, I was out in the front lawn watching over Jeongin whilst doing the gardening, I left my phone inside."

"Alright, whatever. There's a game on today, I texted Seungmin, but he didn't reply so I thought I'd stop by." He said, walking immediately in through the door as if he still lived there…

"Bin, I've told you before. You can't just _show up_ for stuff like this, it's totally against the plans we have set!" Minho said, holding up his own hands in exasperation. 

"I always take Seungmin to the games and they’re usually Wednesdays. It's not like it's a new thing, Minho!" He laughed, scanning over the two school photos of the boys mounted in the hallway. He pulled at one of them, making it just a fraction wonky... Minho rolled his eyes, slapping his hand away from the photo before stomping across to the bottom of the staircase.

"Fine... Seung!" He shouted up the stairs. He waited for a moment and was met with no response. He shouted again, before he realised Seungmin was probably either playing music or having his third paddy of the day. "Wait here, I'll see where he is. Don’t touch anything!" Minho snapped, Changbin laughing at him playfully. 

Minho made his way up the stairs. Seungmin had decorated the corkboard hanging off the back of his bedroom door in crudely cut out pictures of idols from whatever band he was listening to… At least it wasn’t on the _actual_ door, he thought…

"Seungie?" He knocked on the door, to which he received no response yet again; zero signs of life. He knocked again, then again, before slowly entering. “Earth to Seungmin?” Seungmin had had his headphones on so he likely couldn't hear him wailing from downstairs. Seungmin noticed the light change when he walked in, turning around slowly, and peeling his headphones out.

“What do you w-?” He said, leaning backwards in his chair. He suddenly straightened up a bit noticing it was Minho. Maybe he expected Jeongin, Minho thought. “Oh, sorry Dad. What’s up?”

"Seung. I know you're probably studying, but your Dad said he messaged about a game today and you didn't answer?" He wandered in, taking in some of Seungmin’s new bedroom décor. Some new albums stacked up on his desk and some black and white aesthetic shots of SLR cameras…

"I saw it. I just don't want to go to the game." He said, snubbing the suggestion instantly.

"What, why? You always go together?"

"I don't care." He turned back to his book, slapping his elbow down on the other side of his desk, leaning his head into his hand.

"Seungmin... Come on. This has really gone on long enough now…" Minho walked across to him, placing his hand on his hair to comfort him. “You’re being stroppy, again.” 

"Why doesn't he just take Jeongin? He'd prefer that anyway." Seungmin huffed.

"Don't be ridiculous Seung, it's a tradition with you two. Jeongin is across at Felix's, anyway. Do you want to go, or not?"

"Of course he is… _Fine_. Only because I’ve already finished, though." He grumbled, slamming the book closed.

"Well sheesh, don't make it sound like such a burden. Dad’s downstairs already; _happy faces_ , please." Minho scoffed. He watched as Seungmin gathered up a few books, and a grey hoodie with a red heart on it, before slinging some of his other smaller things into his satchel.

When he returned downstairs, he saw a sight that almost stopped his heart for a moment. Changbin was obviously _not_ waiting where he had left him in the hall, which was not unexpected, knowing Changbin. However, walking down his path outside, in his typical blank muscle shirt, was a sweaty, charcoal-covered Jisung, and he was heading straight for the door.

Minho picked up his pace, belting down the stairs to meet him at the door with his arm across it, leaning on it casually, probably failing to mask his panic entirely.

"Jisung, hey. What're you...?"

"Hey, Minho! I totally forgot that I still had your shirt from the other night. I thought I'd return it." He walked up to the door a little closer than Minho was comfortable with knowing Changbin was lurking in his house. "It's clean, don't worry. It may have some glitter on it though, because Felix decided to make a Christmas diorama in July." He chuckled.

"Oh, th-thanks." Minho said. He accepted the black shirt back, taking it from Jisung's grasp and slipping it over his arm.

"Thanks for having Felix over the other day, and sorry about the couch, again."

"It's fine Jisung, no harm done. I managed to get the stain out. Thanks for bringing my shirt back."

"No worries. Felix and I had a really great time. We should totally have like, a movie night or--"

Suddenly Changbin decided to make his presence known, swinging himself arrogantly into sight from where he was through in the living room, leaning his head through the door to catch eyes with him. He’d likely heard the entire exchange…

"Min, I’ve been waiting for y—Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?” He said. Jisung looked a little surprised to see him suddenly appear. “Sorry, I don’t believe we’ve met? I’m Changbin.”

"Oh, hi. Sorry, yeah. Name’s Jisung." Jisung said, smiling at the other man, bowing a little. 

“Sorry, I’m a terrible host.” Minho said awkwardly, gesturing across to Changbin. "Jisung, Changbin is the boys' Dad, and Changbin, this is Jisung; he's just moved in across the street a few weeks ago."

“Ah. The blonde kid’s Dad, right? What was the name, a Western name right? Fester, or Phil or—”

“—It’s Felix. It means _‘happiness’_ and _‘luck’_. It’s got Latin roots.” Jisung said. “It’s an English name.”

“Ah, yeah. That’s the one. Nice to meet you, Jisung.” Changbin quipped, putting his hand out immediately.

"Nice to meet you." Jisung said politely, as cheerful as ever.

He took Changbin's hand to shake. Minho noticed how formal the handshake seemed, Changbin's knuckles almost turning white as he shook his hand, a little too assertively… Jisung would have likely felt the pressure, but he didn’t seem to make a big deal out of it.

"It’s nice to put a face to a name. I've heard a lot about you." Jisung said, through a smile.

"Hah, don't believe him. It's all lies." Changbin retorted, throwing his head in Minho's direction, and swiping his tongue across his bottom lip. "Well, some of it's true, but I won't divulge in which parts..." He said, smirking at Jisung.

Minho just rolled his eyes; he wanted to be swallowed by the ground.

"Mr. Han!" Seungmin unexpectedly called from up the stairs, rushing down as soon as he noticed him standing them. He shimmied over to the door immediately, a smile spreading quickly across his face.

"Hey there, Buddy!" Jisung said enthusiastically in response. Seungmin leaped out of the door and latched on to his waist immediately, still holding on to his book, jabbing it in to Jisung's abdomen. He hugged him tightly, squishing his face against the older man’s side. "I told you Seungmin, you can call me Jisung, it's okay!"

"Sorry! Mr. _Jisung_ , look what chapter I'm at now!" Seungmin said, moving back and shoving his book in to Jisung's hands with a proud grin.

"Wow, _'English Advanced 2, Past Participles'_. That's really hard stuff, Seungmin!" Jisung said, giving him his signature thumbs up. Seungmin put his own thumb up to press to Jisung’s a few times; it was like a little cute handshake between them both. Minho couldn’t help but find it utterly adorable. 

"I know, I thought it would be, but I think it's easy now!" He said, smugly. “You made it a lot easier for me to understand!”

Minho couldn't help but notice the slight irritation on Changbin's face listening to the interaction. Jisung would never notice, but Minho knew him _so well_ that every little exasperated smirk or subdued eye-roll was immediately obvious to him...

He almost wanted to see just how much it would get to him... He wasn't that petty though, right? He wouldn't deliberately push Changbin's buttons, right?

"Jisung, you've been _so_ helpful with Seungmin's English. The teachers are all commenting about how he's nearly at a high school level with it, now!" Minho said, leaning in closer to him, tilting his head against the wall next to the door.

"Oh, it's no worries at all, I'm glad I could help out!" Jisung said, rubbing at his nape. 

"No, I mean it, thank you _so much_." Minho gripped on to Jisung's arm, just slightly under his bicep, giving it a little squeeze. Jisung looked mildly confused at the contact.

"Honestly, don't mention it. Well, I should get back to those two!" he said, pointing across to his front lawn at Felix and Jeongin, who were playing in an empty washing-machine box with ‘ ~~HhO~~ _Huneydukes SweetsShop’_ written across it. “Sorry to disturb you. You guys are obviously busy-"

"No, no! Changbin was just about to leave, actually. Weren't you Changbin?" Minho said, looking back to Changbin, who was glaring at Minho already, boring holes through his skull. "He decided just to _stop by_ and take Seungmin to a baseball game. Isn't that sweet?"

"I want to do Karaoke instead!" Seungmin said, looking back to Minho, tugging on the bottom of Minho’s shirt. “I’ve learnt all the English version words to _Zombie!_ ”

"I'm sure Dad can take you to karaoke afterwards, too, Seung. Right, _Binnie?_ " Minho scrunched up his eyes, smiling at the younger man. He knew he was spurring Changbin on. He knew it, but he couldn't stop.

"I mean, I don't really sing." Changbin said, his obvious impatience seeping through in his tone.

"Really? I wonder where he gets it from then? Seungmin has such a fantastic voice!" Jisung responded wholeheartedly. "He's been singing with me most days, right Bud?" Jisung said, placing his hand on Seungmin’s shoulder.

"Right! Mr. Han- I mean, Mr. _Jisung_ is a really good singer and he has been helping me a lot."

"That's _great._ " Changbin said. "Anyway, let's get going Seung, I want to get good seats for the game. Go get in the car, I want to say goodbye to your Dad." He pointed his car key in the direction of his convertible, pressing his key fob to automatically start it up. Seungmin hooked his headphones around his neck and gave Minho a quick one-armed hug before heading out of the door and down the path, waving goodbye at Jisung as he left with a smile on his face. It was the brightest Minho had seen him in a while.

"I'll be back at the normal time, Minho. I guess _I'll see you then?_ " Changbin said as he looked at him; it was a look he hadn’t seen in a while.

He remembered back to one of his and Changbin’s earlier dates; it was in a new Italian restaurant that had only just opened. The ‘tall, dark and handsome’-type waiter they were being served by had been a bit ‘too flirty’ with Minho in Changbin’s opinion. Changbin had no trouble verbally obliterating the poor man right in front of his eyes… He couldn’t even deny how maddeningly attractive he found it. He didn’t know why, he could more than fend for himself.

He wasn’t sure if it was lust, or anger, or a combination of the two. Whatever it was, it wasn't subtle _at all_. Minho found himself flushed, suddenly realising the implications of what Changbin was implying as he gently placed his hand on the small of his back from behind him.

Minho noticed Jisung slightly falter at the comments’ straightforwardness, too. His eyes flickering downwards; he obviously knew as well as he did what Changbin getting back _'seeing him later'_ may imply...

Changbin turned back to Jisung in bewilderment, suddenly.

"Sorry, can we, just have a moment?" Changbin said to him, spurring him to leave them alone. “I don’t mean to be rude, or anything.”

“Oh, sorry. Yeah, totally. My bad.” Jisung awkwardly nodded and took a couple of steps backwards down the path to give them some privacy, turning away to focus back on Felix and Jeongin with his hands in his pockets.

Minho crossed his arms over his body, still holding on to the shirt in his hand. He scoffed as he eyeballed Changbin watching Jisung walk away, totally pleased with his own performance. 

" _Un-be-liev-able_. You are _so ridiculous_ , you know that? Do you even see yourself?” Minho snorted, shaking his head.

"I’m ridiculous? So, you're really gonna try and flaunt this random dude in front of my face? In front of my boy, too?"

"Wow, I’ve actually pissed you off, huh? Your insecurity is showing, _Binnie._ ” Minho said mockingly, flicking Changbin’s lower lip with his index finger.

He liked to try and give back whatever Changbin threw at him every now and then. Seeing as Changbin usually only ever won their arguments by sticking his tongue down his throat, he considered they were on a level playing field this time… 

“I’m not insecure, Minho.” He grunted. “Jeez. Bet you can’t _wait_ for me to take Seungmin off of your hands, huh?” Changbin teased back. “He’s just such a _great guy_ , he’s been _so helpful_ with _Seungmin’s English!_ ” Changbin mocked, fluttering his eyelashes and pouting back at him.

“Knock it off, you utter ignoramus.” Minho said, flitting him away with his hand.

“Well, I better leave you and your little lover-boy to it then. I mean, don’t get me wrong, he’s _not bad_. Totally not your type though, Minho.” Changbin laughed.

“Oh, and what exactly is ‘ _my type’_ , then?” He huffed back in bemusement.

“Do you really want me to say it?” Changbin said, sliding his hands in to his pockets. “We both know you need someone a little more… Well, _you know_. Someone who can rile you up; _get you going_ a little. You know?” He wiggled his eyebrows at the older man.

“You mean someone who _irritates me?_ Unfortunately, I made that mistake before.” Minho retorted, an obnoxiously wide smile across his face.

“Whatever you say, Min. Clearly the attraction isn’t like what we have, though. I bet you try your best not to imagine _me_ when you’re—

“Goodbye, Changbin!” Minho shouted suddenly, spinning him around and pushing him out of the door and down the path. “Nice to see you as per usual!”

"By the way, that black long-sleeve shirt, that's actually _mine_. I must have left it here, one night when we...” He turned back around and glanced back at Minho, who looked totally mortified. Then he watched as he unashamedly scanned over Jisung as he exited, crossing his path across the lawn. “Actually, never mind. You keep it Minho, it always looked so much better on you. You just have the body for it; my lats are a bit too broad.” Changbin loudly called back, leaning behind him to ensure he got the final word.

He winked at Minho, before waving to Jeongin across the street. Suddenly ‘Dad mode’ was on, and Minho knew he wasn’t able to shout anything back in front of Jeongin, although he really, _really_ wanted to…

"Sorry, I shouldn't have stopped by uninvited.” Jisung said, a little awkwardly.

"Jisung, you can stop by whenever you like.” He said. “He doesn't control my life!” He shouted; ‘to Jisung’, but actually down the road in the direction of Changbin so he could hear it, watching as he smugly dipped into the driver’s seat.

“Well, I was just… I have the barbeque going out back. I thought maybe… Or not, if you have plans or whatever, later tonight, that’s cool, too.” Jisung said, though a stifled, dry laugh.

“We do _not_ have plans. I could think of ten thousand things I would rather do than have plans with that man. I’d love to come to the barbeque, Jisung!” He said, passive-aggressively.

 **6:32pm** **🐿️---**

Jisung watched as Minho _violently skewered_ the sausage on his paper plate. 

It made the entire table shake. They were sitting on a tiny, little, purple bench designed for four kids under the age of 10 that Jisung had slung together in the back yard.

Felix had painted it with little blue handprints.

“Well, lucky we’re eating off of cardboard, isn’t it? I don’t think my porcelain could take that kind of aggression…” Jisung chuckled, placing his hand softly overtop of Minho’s to stop him.

Changbin had really riled him up.

He tried to imagine how on Earth a guy like that could weasel his way into Minho’s bed whenever he wanted, considering how much they seemingly screamed at each other.

“Sorry, I’m just- _Ugh_. Sorry.” Minho said, looking back up to him apologetically. “I shouldn’t take my anger out on this poor sausage.” He laughed.

“It’s okay.” Jisung said, scrunching up his nose at the older man.

He passed a napkin across to Felix, who had managed to drop ketchup down his front for _the fourth time_ ; despite only having _four bites_ of his burger.

Jisung noticed it made Minho wince a little bit whenever Felix was particularly messy.

Comparing Felix to Jeongin was almost humorous.

Jeongin was seated on the other side of the table, sitting quietly with a napkin tucked in his shirt down the front to catch the food that fell from his hands and mouth.

Jisung watched as Felix on the other hand, literally just took a bite of burger and squirted ketchup directly on to where he’d bitten.

“How was school today, Jeongin?” Jisung asked, looking back to him to try to get to know the boy a little better.

He’d made lots of headway with Seungmin, but Jeongin was particularly difficult to get through to.

“It was okay. Thank you.” He said, tentatively.

“What did you do today, Jeongin?” Minho asked, too, obviously trying to spur the conversation forward; he even clocked Jisung as he spoke, as if to thank him for trying.

“I did math… And we did some spellings, and we did paintings, too… Felix painted a pretty picture of a butterfly that was purple and blue and pink as well.” he said, nodding.

He looked towards Minho with wide eyes, who seemed to be proud of him for contributing to the conversation. Minho smiled at him, reaching over and stroking at his right cheek with his thumb.

Jisung looked back over to Felix, beaming with pride himself, after hearing that the highlight of Jeongin’s day was Felix’s painting.

He didn’t expect to see Felix looking down, poking at his food, ignoring the comment entirely.

He’d rather anticipated a broad smile with cheeks brimming full of burger bun and spit dribbling down his face as he less than graciously accepted the compliment.

“Where is the picture, Felix?” Jisung asked. “Can we see it?”

“No. I didn’t like it.” He said, shaking his head. His lip pulled out a little, into a pout.

“But Jeongin said it was really good?” Minho said sweetly.

He hadn’t ever heard of Felix getting rid of one of his art pieces, he usually kept them until there was literally no more physical space for them or Felix had decided to ‘ _take a different artistic direction’ –_ a.k.a he’d found a messier medium to work with.

“Well, I threw it away… In the bin. So, you can’t see it.” He suddenly dumped his half-eaten burger down on the paper plate and dropped himself off of the bench, ducking under it and running back across to the back porch; the sound of his little sandals slapping against the stone.

“Felix?” Jisung looked to Minho with a perplexed look on his face, who shared a similarly confused expression.

Jisung unhooked his leg from the tiny bench (with difficulty) and waded across to Felix who was sitting on the steps with his knees together, elbows overtop and his hands on his chin, huffing.

“Felix? What was that about? You know we always tell each other when we are not very happy or if we have had a bad day... Come on, talk to me.” Jisung said, sitting next to him, nudging him a little.

“I know.” Felix sighed. “ _They_ …” He started, before sniffling. “I… spilled the dirty paint water. It went on my picture and it got ruined so I couldn’t take it home.” He huffed, hitting at his kneecaps with his tiny balled-up fists.

Jisung put his own hand across his knees to stop him.

“That’s okay, Little Man. You can make another one, if you want?”

“I know, I just… I… I really wanted to show you it!” He whined, before suddenly erupting into tears and falling in to Jisung’s lap.

It caught him totally by surprise.

Felix didn’t often cry, even when he’d taken a fake _‘Bludger’_ to the head or fallen from the top of the slide at the park when he was trying to fly with his makeshift ‘fairy wings’.

Jisung had concluded that he was so full of energy and adrenaline that he barely registered pain; until now, apparently.

Jisung enveloped him in his arms, holding him tightly as he sobbed.

He almost felt as if he was going to cry _for him._

Minho walked across to them from the bench, Jeongin’s hand in his; toddling along next to him.

Minho sat next to him on the steps, placing Jeongin neatly on his lap.

“It’s okay, Felix.” Minho fussed.

“Lixie. Please don’t cry anymore.” Jeongin said, suddenly handing him a small, white feather.

Felix looked up, removing his arm from his eyes, and swiping across his nose with his cardigan sleeve, rubbing snot across his entire face.

He took the white feather from Jeongin’s hand and looked at it for a moment; his tears ceasing as all the options about what he could do with it ran through his imagination.

Minho placed his hand on Jisung’s back, obviously noticing how upset he was watching Felix in this kind of state.

All his irritation from earlier at his _ridiculously-overbearing_ ex-husband, seemed to have disappeared with the swiftly-setting sun.

Felix tended to have that effect on people.

Jisung looked back across to him, giving him a weak smile, and leaning in towards him.

He placed his head on his shoulder again, just like the other day.

This time, Minho let his head relax too, until they were resting on each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for showing interest in this; I came back to 300 kudos and I'm totally chuffed that people are enjoying!
> 
> lowkey why is changbin my favourite character tho


	11. Love Looks Not With The Eyes, But With The Mind

**Wednesday, 10:48pm** 🐱---

Minho suddenly found himself eagerly shoved up against the bookcase in his living room by a less-than-patient Changbin, once again… He couldn’t help but kiss back for just a moment, but there was definitely less fervour than normal. He found himself almost _shaking his head_ as he kissed him.

"You look incredible, Min... Those jeans on you... Just, wow.” He murmured. Changbin yanked him forward a little so that he could slide his other hand behind his back as he leaned in and pressed him backwards against the bookcase again.

The sudden ‘passionate outburst’ had meant that he had knocked all of the boys’ holiday photos over and Minho found himself flustered trying to manoeuvre his hands behind himself to stand them back up.

“Min, just, leave it.” Changbin laughed breathlessly into his mouth. He snaked his hand around the back of his head, threading his hand through his hair. Minho decided to pull backwards away from the kiss to look at him, pressing him back a little with a steady hand to his chest.

“Excuse me if I don’t appreciate my house being totally wrecked.” He scoffed, rolling his eyes.

He turned around; he had to re-arrange his photos and push his little cacti further back in to the space it occupied before one of them was literally impaled...

“What’s wrong? Are you being off with me?” Changbin said, taking Minho lightly by the wrist to try and turn him back to face him.

“Wow, very observant.” He shoved his hands away almost immediately. “Are you surprised, after how you acted earlier…?”

“What? Oh come on, you know I’m just messing with you Minho. I thought you’d be able to take a little teasing!” he laughed, smirking at the older man.

“Well, I didn’t appreciate it. You embarrassed me in front of my neighbour...”

“Oh come on…” Look, I’m sorry, Min. I wasn’t thinking. You just drive me crazy sometimes.”

“Well, I _shouldn’t_. We’ve been over this so many times I’ve lost count. I don't even know what to say.” He threw his hands up protectively in exasperation, to which Changbin grabbed them lightly again, pulling him back in closer, angling his face towards him.

“Then don’t say anything, just kiss me.” He whispered.

“No, Changbin. We can’t do this right now.” He shoved him backwards, turning around and pacing backwards and forwards towards the door, rubbing at his own temples. The door was opened just a smidge, just enough that he could see the staircase.

“What are you talking about? The boys will be asleep by now.”

 _Of course_ that was Changbin’s main concern. The boys seeing them together, not the emotional strain he always put on him whenever he wanted to. It was always about appearances with Changbin.

“This isn’t about them. And before you say anything; it’s got nothing to do with Jisung, either.”

“Oh really? So, what is it then?” He retorted.

“Changbin. We’re broken up. I’ve had enough of you thinking that you own me all of the time and you can just do whatever you want. And just as a side note, you can’t just come here and pick Seungmin up unannounced. I’m serious, it’s totally not okay.”

“Min…”

“Please, stop-Stop calling me that.” He shouted, before lowering his voice again in fear of the boys hearing. “You called me that when we were together, and you know what it does to me, it’s not fair. It… It hurts.”

“Well, I’m-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to. I never want to hurt you.”

“Then, why are you constantly doing just that!?” He shouted.

Changbin looked at him a moment, he looked initially a little shocked, before his expression curled up into a slight scowl.

“Don’t you think that’s a little rich, coming from you?” Changbin clapped back. “You literally broke my heart, or have you forgotten that part? It’s all just about your feelings, huh? Even though you were the one who threw me aside like six years meant nothing to you?”

Minho tensed up a little as he scanned over Changbin’s face. He couldn’t entirely make out what he was feeling. His self-righteousness had faded a little and he almost looked _upset_ , which wasn’t an emotion Minho typically associated with Changbin. He took a deep inhale, before letting go of the tension in his shoulders.

“Changbin. Do you still love me?”

“What? Of course I still love you, what kind of question is that?”

“No, I mean, like, are you still _in love_ with me? Or is this just purely physical between us now, or what?”

“I don’t… I don’t know. Why, do you still love me?”

“I asked first.” Minho snapped, his brows furrowing. He wasn’t going to give Changbin the satisfaction of an answer to that and he wasn’t entirely sure how he felt for certain, anyway.

“Well, I don’t know, seeing you with that other guy made me feel, really…” 

"You know, I really kicked myself for ending things with us. It was the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life.”

“Oh _please_ , Minho. _You_ broke up with _me_ and now you’re acting like _I’m_ the one messing _you_ around.” He scoffed, putting his hands on his hips in frustration.

“Yeah, I did, but I never thought I’d actually have the guts to do it.” He sighed. “I broke up with you, yet here I am practically putty in your hands every other week. What does that say about how weak I am for you?”

It was silent for a moment between them. Minho could see Changbin’s brain ticking over, trying to process Minho’s confession and work out what to say next. Instead, Minho continued,

“You know, I convinced myself that I’d made a mistake when I called it off between us. I thought we’d just get back together eventually, and it would be _different this time_. But I just kept getting used by you, over and over. Now Jisung shows me an inkling of attention and suddenly you have feelings for me again?”

“God, I never used you, Minho!” He countered. “It took me ages to ‘get over’ our relationship, and I can’t even convince myself that I entirely fucking have gotten over it, either! What exactly do you want me to say here…?” He sighed, shaking his head a little as he stared into Minho’s eyes.

It was a bittersweet feeling swirling inside of him. On one hand, he’d ended things with Changbin because he knew it was the right thing to do. They were so different emotionally, and it became too exhausting to keep the charade up. On the other hand, even though _Minho_ called things off, he always felt like Changbin had the upper hand in the situation. It was almost a relief to hear that Changbin hadn’t entirely gotten over him, either.

“I don’t know, Changbin. I just hate feeling like this all the time, like we’re going in circles.” He said, his voice cracking as he did. He needed not to cry here, but he really felt weak, his lip had started trembling.

Changbin shifted closer to him upon noticing the change in his tone of voice, and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling him tightly towards his own chest. He nestled his head into the space between his collarbone and neck and they just stood there, for what felt like ages, just in each other’s space. Minho gave in, and wrapped his arms around the younger man, getting lost in his warmth.

It felt relieving to hear Changbin be honest with him for once. He couldn’t handle much more of the sarcastic patter anymore, he was exhausted.

“I’m sorry if I ever made you think I was using you. I would never do that.” Changbin suddenly said, almost on the verge of tears himself. “I know I joke around, and I know I take it too far sometimes, too. Just know I don’t want to hurt you, ever.”

That certainly wasn’t what he was expecting to hear fall from Changbin’s lips.

“I never meant to hurt you either, back then.” Minho said back, still fighting the tears that were creeping up on him.

He suddenly heard a little thud from upstairs, which made him break the embrace somewhat and look towards the staircase, arms still wrapped around Changbin’s shoulders. From the top of the staircase, spied the bottom of Seungmin’s little navy-blue pyjama leg promptly slipping back up the stairs.

 **Friday 5:53pm** **🐿️---**

Jisung could tell Minho wasn’t a massive fan of western food. Yet here he was, standing outside of a little American-style diner, 20 minutes from home, at Jisung’s suggestion.

The whole place was obnoxiously red, white and blue themed, with stars covering the outside. It was pretty ridiculous, even for Jisung’s own strange color palette preferences.

The entire little ensemble was here; even Seungmin, who always seemed more enthusiastic these days when they were all together as a unit.

He almost seemed more like a kid his own age. 

“Thanks for driving us here Minho, Felix really loves this place. I’m glad you recommended it to us when we moved here.” Jisung said, slipping his arm around the older mans’ as they walked towards it from the parking lot, Felix’s hand in his other hand on the other side of him.

“No worries; my car is bigger. I know he was a bit upset the other day at the barbeque.” Suddenly Felix squealed and broke loose, grabbing Jeongin and Seungmin’s hands in tandem and running across to the front entrance of the diner, jumping up and down at the door, stars in his eyes.

“I bet his Mom cancelling probably wasn’t a great feeling, either.” Minho continued.

“It’s not unusual, he’s used to it by now.” Jisung laughed dryly. “To be honest, I’m sure he’d rather be here with you and your boys, anyway!”

Minho smiled fondly at him, then looking ahead to Jeongin and Felix who were now both climbing all over a coin-operated kids ride that looked like some kind of Captain America knock-off.

Felix was dangling off the side, shaking it to try and get it to start and Seungmin was smiling along, using a little pink camera phone to take a video of him.

“Felix, if you break that I’ll have to pay for it! Please calm down before we get in!” Jisung cried out.

The whole gang stumbled in, and the youngish, cheerful waitress in a little red and white striped apron showed them across to a six-seater booth.

The diner had a few American super-hero style illustrations all over the walls and whole place kind of smelled like grease.

There was also the slight whiff of cheaply produced plastic, likely coming from the large ball pit situated in the corner in the kid’s area.

Felix’s face always lit up as soon as he saw that ball pit.

Hopefully, he’d manage to get him to actually eat first.

Jisung slipped in next to Minho almost instinctively, but then saw a pair of heartbroken, little puppy dog eyes looking up at him.

Jeongin wanted to sit next to his Dad, understandably.

He smiled at the younger boy, lifting him up and placing him next to Minho, instead.

Jisung slipped around the other side to sit with Felix and Seungmin, directly opposite the older man.

Jeongin and Seungmin had ordered two kid’s meals with chicken, he himself had ordered the biggest doubled-up burger on the menu, and slapped on all additional extras, obviously.

Felix decided that he was going to copy Minho and get a jacket potato with ‘just cheese’.

Felix spoke about Minho a _lot_ these days; how kind he was, and how ‘pretty’ his cats were. He seemed to resonate with Minho’s _calmer_ nature.

He had also told Jisung that he thought Minho ‘ _would probably be a Ravenclaw, and definitely not Hufflepuff like he was, but that was okay, because Ravenclaws were nice if they wanted to be.’_

They mostly made small talk throughout the course of the evening, discussing the boy’s school and the projects they were working on.

Seungmin took the lead in those conversations, Felix had become much more subdued talking about his classes and Jeongin was one of the quietest kids Jisung had ever encountered when he was out in public.

“I forgot to say, Dad. I am going to be in the talent show!” Seungmin said proudly.

“Wow, that’s fantastic Seung! Minho beamed.

“I’m going to sing, in English! Everyone says that I’m really cool when I sing.” Seungmin replied, haughtily, clearly impressed with himself.

“Wow, that’s awesome Buddy. When is it? I’ll need to make sure I’m free to come and watch it!” Jisung responded excitedly, followed by the two of them doing their signature handshake as Minho grinned at them both.

Minho joked about some pretentious new Regional Manager his work had employed who was the embodiment of every Disney villain combined; not that he couldn’t ‘handle it’, in his words.

Jisung and Minho exchanged numbers too; Jisung stating that it probably was a good idea if they ever had to carpool or pick the others’ kids up from school.

Minho said some stuff about fuel consumption, but Jisung just couldn’t stop staring at him as he spoke, so eloquently… He almost felt bad for not really listening.

They were all talking so comfortably, twenty-five minutes had already passed since they ordered, and their meals were being whisked out of the kitchen quicker than the conversation died down.

Jisung tucked into his burger, trying his best not to drop bacon and cheese all over his favourite shirt; he knew how much Minho hated people being untidy.

For some reason it made him conscientiously neater; he felt like he had to be better around Minho, like he was some _higher being_ or something.

He looked across the table.

Jisung tried to process what he was watching unfold in front of him.

Minho started cutting up Felix’s jacket potato for him, slicing it through the middle a few times and cutting the potato into little chunks.

He leaned across to feed him some, his hand cupped underneath it to catch anything that could fall.

Felix opened his mouth wide, taking a huge bite of the potato from Minho’s fork with an ‘ _omm!_ ’ sound as he smiled across at Minho as he munched, clapping his hands together afterwards. 

He even chewed _with his mouth shut_.

It was almost a historic moment, in Jisung’s eyes.

Felix was way too old to be being baby-fed across a table, but his little freckled cherub certainly knew how to weasel his way in to everyone’s heart.

“Daaaad. When is Uncle Hyunjin coming over again? He said he will get me a wizard’s cauldron from the props from his show!” Felix beamed from next to him, clinging on to his arm.

“Oh. Are you having Chan and Hyunjin over again at some point?” Minho asked. “They’re a lot of fun.”

Damn it. Jisung had successfully avoided the subject of Hyunjin around Minho up until now.

He wasn’t really sure how to play this.

After his and Hyunjin’s conversation at his house, Jisung had denied he had any feelings for Minho immediately and ended up almost giving Hyunjin his _blessing_ to try and pursue him.

He wasn’t great in high pressure situations, if it wasn’t obvious.

“Soon, Lixie, as soon as we can get them around when you’re not at your Moms.’” Jisung said. “Why don’t you boys go and check out the kids’ area whilst we order desserts, huh? What does everyone want?”

“Okay! I’ll have chocolate ice cream and strawberry sauce and sprinklies!” Felix beamed, hopping immediately out of his chair to the floor. “Come on Seungie, Jeongie! I’m going to jump in the ball pit!” He screeched, running across, flapping his arms as he went.

The other two boys ordered chocolate brownie and mint chocolate ice cream, then received their _designated hair strokes_ from Minho after his ‘ _be careful not to hurt any of the other children’_ talk.

They eagerly headed across to where Felix was shouting _‘Captain Felix, reporting! Save me! S.O.S!’_ waving his arms above his head before sinking into the depths of the ball pit.

Minho was watching them lovingly, leaning his arm around the booth wall to turn to face them; a small smile tugging at his lips as he sipped his milkshake through his straw.

“So… Speaking of Hyunjin. You and Hyunjin, did anything, materialise?” Jisung said nonchalantly. 

“Oh. Yeah, we’ve been chatting, just kind of to and fro-ing, I guess.”

“Wow and he hasn’t pounced yet?” Jisung scoffed, almost instinctively, before he realised what he’d said. “Oh, wow, I’m a bad friend. I shouldn’t have said that.” He chuckled.

Minho turned back to look at him from across the booth.

“It’s okay, I remember what you said about his dating preferences.” Minho giggled. “It’s nothing major, we’re just texting.”

“Oh, that’s a reli—"

“Though, he _did_ ask if I was going to be free this weekend, so maybe we can hang out, I guess.”

Jisung felt his hand tense around his glass.

“That’s great! Good to know you’re getting on well…” He said, with his whole chest. “Just, be careful, you know?”

“I’m sure I can handle it Jisung, I’ll be good.” He chuckled.

“I just wouldn’t want to see anyone get hurt, that’s all. Hyunjin’s my best friend and I feel like, you and I, we’ve become quite close in a short period of time, and I wouldn’t want to see anything, like, bad happen between you two. Or anything. You know?”

He really considered he should stop letting words tumble out of his mouth before his brain actually had time to process how desperate they sounded.

“That’s sweet. Thank you, Jisung. I’m glad you moved in, honestly.” He cupped his hands together and rested his elbows on the table, moving in slightly closer to him. 

“Well, who else would stain your couch and force you to eat greasy burgers when you _clearly_ don’t enjoy them?” Jisung joked.

“Pah. You got me. But, I’ll eat anything as long as the boys are happy.” He said, looking back to them lovingly.

Jisung looked back across, too. Just as he did, Felix was gathering all the purple balls in to the main pocket of his hoodie and dumping them out on top of Seungmin, laughing as if it were the funniest thing he’d ever seen.

They both turned back to look at each other at the same time, immediately locking eyes from across the table.

Jisung didn’t realise how far forward he was perching; he could almost feel Minho breathing from where he was sitting. 

Suddenly, the older man leaned in, placing his hand against Jisung’s cheek to cup the right-hand side of his face.

His breath hitched suddenly as Minho came closer, and closer to him, leaning in across the table.

What the hell was happening?

He leaned in a little, too, just to show Minho that he _wasn’t totally opposed_ to the idea of kissing him, even if it was _totally_ out of the blue and a bit more ‘public’ then he would have liked, personally.

 _Maybe he wasn't so uptight,_ Jisung thought.

Minho abruptly shoved his face to the left with his hand, his brow furrowing. He was suddenly examining his cheek, squinting his eyes at him.

“What the heck do you have on your face?” He asked, prodding at the spot just above his ear as he tilted his face to the side. “Is that pink paint?”

Jisung let his eyes close for a quick moment, just quickly enough that Minho wouldn’t notice his expression. He breathed an internal sigh of relief.

Well, it was part relief, part irritation.

A kiss wouldn’t have been the _worst_ thing in the world right now…

“Oh, it might be icing. Felix and I did some baking.” Jisung said, knocking his hand away and rubbing at the spot between his cheek and ear.

“Wow, I really see where Felix gets it from, you know?” Minho chuckled.

“Hey, we’re just creative minds!”

“You’re a mess.”

“And you’re uptight.”

Minho’s mouth dropped open in disbelief, with his hands to either side of his face.

“Excuse me! Well, if I were uptight... Would I do this?” He said, proudly with a smirk.

He crashed his hands down on the table, pushing himself up to his feet and slipping out of the booth with a dramatic hair flick to move his bangs out of his face.

“What’re you--? Minho?”

Jisung watched as Minho confidently walked past some of the other tables and headed towards the ball pit, looking over his shoulder at him as he did, not ceasing eye contact the _entire_ way there.

“Oh god Minho; oh god, no!” Jisung laughed, ducking his head down a little, a blush appearing across his ears. He looked around at the other parents in the restaurant, silently judging him like boring stick-in-the-muds.

And just like that, Minho was climbing into the kids’ ball pit at the greasy diner.

Obnoxiously red, white and blue themed, with stars covering the outside.

Felix, Jeongin and Seungmin all waded through the plastic to come and meet him in a huge hug, giggling like maniacs as Jisung watched them all.

He couldn’t help but feel like there really was something special developing between them.

 **12:12am** 🐱---

 _00:12:_ **Changbin**

So I don’t really know how to say this, but here goes

I’ve been thinking about it a lot

 _00:14:_ **Me**

Sorry? Thinking about what?

Is this about the other night?

00:16: **Changbin**

Minho

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t still in love with you

I hope you don’t think I was ever just using you

I guess my feelings just go a bit deeper than I thought they did and that was my way of being close to you

I’m sorry I pissed you off the other day, it just weirdly hurt thinking that you could be anyone else’s

I got defensive, and I’m sorry for that

 _00:20:_ **Me**

Wait

Are you serious?

I don’t know what to say…

00:22: **Changbin**

I know

It’s a lot

I’m not good at this emotional stuff, I know you know that but I’m

I’m trying, at least

 _00:24:_ **Me**

I mean, what’s to say anything would be different from the first time?

I can’t put the boys or myself through that again.

 _00:27:_ **Changbin**

There’s nothing to say that things wouldn’t be different, at all

But I guess we wouldn’t know until we try

Maybe we should, go out like we used to, or something

Let me take you out?

 _00:29:_ **Me**

I don’t know, Changbin.

Can we talk about this in the morning?

It’s late and I have work tomorrow.

We’ve been separated for two and a half years…

It’s a lot to process for me.

 _00:31:_ **Changbin**

Sure, of course.

I’m sorry it’s so late

I just had to say something before I never did

 _00:33:_ **Me**

It’s okay, Dori had me up anyway.

Thank you for finally being honest with me.

Call me tomorrow instead, okay?

 _00:35:_ **Changbin**

Yeah, I will. Let me know when your lunchbreak is.

Sleep well x

 _00:37:_ **Me**

Okay, I’ll let you know.

You too. x

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN DUN DUN
> 
> gosh i haven't even started with the angst yet i'm having too much fun making everyone fall in love with lino


	12. He Hath Eaten Me Out Of House And Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is the longest chapter by far so strap in. it's mostly jisung-centric so sorry it's a little all over the place! <3

**Thursday 5:24pm** 🐿️---

You, Hyunjinnie 🦙

 _17:24pm_ You:

Hey Jin

So, just a quick one

Were you planning something with Minho on Sat?

 _17:28pm_ Hyunjinnie 🦙:

um, well like, nothing’s really set in stone but yeah kinda??

why?

should I not?

 _17:32pm_ You:

Well it’s just that

Idk really

Ignore me, I’m being dumb.

 _17:36pm_ Hyunjinnie 🦙:

let me guessssss

when you took me aside at yours and told me you ‘*didn’t care* if I thought minho was hot’ and you *didn’t care* if gave minho my number’

in *Jisung* language that was actually ‘I actually really do care’

😊

 _17:39pm_ You:

Well

I mean

Honestly, I don’t even know

I have no idea what I’m saying

 _17:42pm_ Hyunjinnie 🦙:

if you had feelings for him Jisung you should have just told me

like

we’re friends

i won’t do anything if you don’t want me to, I told you that before, but you insisted you didn’t have a thing for him 🤷

 _17:45pm_ You:

I mean, I’m not sure if I do yet but

It definitely feels like it’s going that way, to me anyway.

I’m not sure how deep it goes?

It’s so weird. I’ve not really been attracted to someone in ages.

Plus this sounds weird

But the other day I literally watched him help Felix cut up some potato and it made me nearly weep

Soooo…

Take that for whatever that is

_17:48pm_ Hyunjinnie 🦙:

????

i feel like i need some context there

but

ok

i’ll cancel with him, i’d never step on your man!!

 _17:53pm_ You:

🙄

I feel so bad, I’m sorry

I just

Guhhhhh I don’t know

It just feels like we spend every waking moment that we’re not at work, together

Speaking of

I have to go and pick Felix up from school

I’m getting his kids too.

 _17:55pm_ Hyunjinnie 🦙:

there’s regular old romantic jisung making a reappearance <3

are you gonna tell him how you feel?

 _17:57pm_ You:

I’m not totally sure just yet

But I think so, yeah

I think he entertains it, so maybe he kinda feels the same?

Not sure though

 _18:01pm_ Hyunjinnie 🦙:

He’d be dumb if he didn’t <3

plus it’s obvious he’s attracted to you

i mean he literally malfunctioned when he found out you weren’t straight

 _18:04pm_ You:

Hah, yeah?

I kind of thought so too, but I wasn’t sure if he was just shocked or it was the alcohol, or what.

Thanks for understanding, man.

You’re the best

 _18:06pm_ Hyunjinnie 🦙:

I know (:

But seriously next one is mine, ok? Deal?????

 _18:09pm_ You:

Hah, okay, deal.

ttyl x

 **6:24pm** 🐿️---

Jisung walked up the school gate, weaving around the slew of other parents, and slipped into the main reception area.

The hallways were cream-colored but covered in colorful display boards filled with kids’ projects and drawings.

It kind of reminded Jisung of his own house, which had almost become an arts and crafts _museum_ , by this point; the pivotal artist being _Felix Lee-Vinci._

He peered in through some of the little windows in the doors; there were several little after school activities going on with a couple of kids in most of the rooms with teaching assistants and tutors.

He meandered over to a little khaki-green seating area connected to another, larger room with a large, white bay door that was held open. ‘ _After School Club’_ was embossed on a big sign above the door.

Felix had been going to After School Club during the high school exam season, as Jisung was also staying much later than usual to grade papers.

Parents were pouring in and out of the room to collect their kids, most of them head-to-toe in suits and uniforms and looking utterly drained.

Jisung’s own blue shirt, navy tie and beige slacks combo seemed slightly out of place around the other parents, but they smiled at him regardless, all wordlessly relating to each other’s post-work fatigue.

Lots of tiny, beaming kids swung out of the room one-by-one; most wearing little Peter Pan paper hats that they’d likely made that afternoon.

Jisung let most of them filter out before he headed in to collect Felix, Jeongin and Seungmin.

He poked his head through the door, peering around the room with his hands in his pocket.

“Hi!” he mouthed, smiling across the room, and waving at the staff.

One of the teachers noticed him immediately, strolling over to him.

She was quite tall, with black hair in a neat bun and a little white cardigan thrown over her olive green and white bohemian-style dress.

“Hello there! You’re Felix’s Dad, right?” She asked, sweetly.

“Oh, yes. Yes, I am. I also am here to collect Jeongin and Seungmin, too.” He handed her a letter from Minho, stating that he had given permission for Jisung to collect them.

“Not to worry! Mr. Lee did call in this morning advance to inform us!” She chimed, nodding her head, and leading him further into the room.

From across the room he saw Felix curled up in a red beanbag at Seungmin’s side.

He was snuggled up leaning on the older boy’s lap, eyes barely open.

Seungmin was seemingly reading him a story quietly in the corner, whilst Jeongin was tucked next to them on a separate yellow beanbag, peacefully watching a video on the tablet.

There were a few other kids left but they all seemed pretty beat, it was almost serene.

“Oh. Mr Han, whilst you’re here in person, I just wanted to let you know…” She stopped abruptly, ushering him towards to the library area of the room behind the rows of bookcases, out of sight.

She looked around anxiously, to check she hadn’t gotten anyone’s attention.

“Felix did get into a bit of a scrape today, with another boy in his class.” She said softly. “It’s nothing physically major, but he did get a cut on the knee and he was quite upset about it.”

“Felix? As in, the little, blonde one tucked up in the corner over there?” Jisung said in disbelief, gesturing to him from across the room.

“Yes.” She chuckled. “We’re doing what we can to try and incorporate Felix into the class after moving across; we know moving to another country and another area is a particularly stressful time for any child, especially one whose first language isn’t—”

“Felix is Korean, and he speaks Korean.”

“Oh, I can totally appreciate that, and most of the time he is an angel!” She cut in defensively, still trying to keep her volume down. “He gets on well with some of the boys and girls from Class Woodpecker and Mr. Lee’s son, Seungmin does look out for him a lot, so he has got some great support here.” She re-assured him. 

“…But?” Jisung interrupted.

“But, we have found that Felix might be having a hard time with integrating with some of the other boys, especially the ones in his class.” 

Jisung exhaled, he knew his Dad’s intuition had been right when Felix was explaining what happened to Wanda.

Felix had said the kids that broke Wanda were in a different class, not his own, though.

“How did he get hurt? What happened to his knee?” He enquired.

“Oh, well. Felix was using the chalks on the playground, drawing a picture on the ground and the other boy knocked him on the back and he fell forwards on to his knees.”

“I mean, why did the other boy push him? Did he want to use the chalks too, or something?”

“Well, a few of the other boys said that Felix had called the other boy a mean name and the other child retaliated.”

“A mean name?” he responded in confusion.

Something didn’t feel right to Jisung.

He buffered a little bit, tilting his head to the side as she continued.

“We’ve let the other parent know that we don’t tolerate that kind of physical behaviour in school either and they did both agree to make up afterwards. Obviously, we have spoken to Felix about the name-calling, too. It’s resolved now, I just thought I should mention it to you, so you were aware.” She finished, grasping her hands together neatly in front of her.

“Of course. I mean, I’m a teacher too, myself. I know how these things go. It’s just totally unlike Felix, though. I’ve never heard him say anything mean to any other kid.” Jisung shrugged.

Jisung knew that Felix’s energy could sometimes rub other kids and other parents up the wrong way, but it came from a place of excitement, usually, and most people forgave him as soon as they warmed to him.

“I’ll be keeping an eye out for you, just to make sure that he’s mixing in well in class and if I have any concerns, I’ll be in contact?” she asked, nodding at him.

“Yeah, thanks… That’d be, great. Thank you.” He said, smiling through the awkwardness of the whole ordeal.

They finally wandered over to Felix, who by now was fully asleep, draped over Seungmin’s lap.

He could see the baby-blue, Pororo band aid on his knee below the leg of his lilac denim shorts.

“Mr. Jisung!” Seungmin stage whispered, waving at him from the beanbag.

Jeongin looked up from his tablet, pulling out the headphones and gathering his bag of things to go home with, including a tiny little fox sock-puppet.

“Hey boys! Ready to go?” Jisung asked, grabbing Felix’s rucksack from the floor next to him.

“Yes, thank you.” Jeongin responded, rolling out of the beanbag to his feet.

Jisung leant down to Felix’s level and placed his hand softly on his arm, shaking him gently until he stirred.

“Felix, c’mon Mister!” he cooed.

He slipped his hands under Felix’s arms, picking him up and wrapping him around his front.

The blonde boy roused a little, looking up at Jisung with a slightly pouted out lip and heavily lidded eyes.

He whined a tad, then tucked his head back in to Jisung’s neck to try and fall back to sleep in his arms.

“Come on boys, let’s get to the car.”

 **7:04pm** 🐿️---

Once they arrived back at the house, all four of them poured in quickly, spreading themselves out in the living room across the couch.

Minho wasn’t going to be back for around thirty minutes, so they had a little time to unwind, just the four of them.

Seungmin immediately started looking around the room at Jisung’s foreign game console games, reading the English on the back out loud so that Jisung could hear it.

Felix was rapidly re-energised after his power nap in the car.

He started bounding around the room, trying to show Jeongin every single little glitter-covered decoration he’d made himself.

Jeongin just toddled along beside him, dozily nodding his head in approval at the things Felix was forcing him to look at.

“Boys, feel free to help yourself if you want any snacks!” Jisung said happily, gathering their bags and hanging them up. “Kitchen is through that door.”

“Thanks Mr. Jisung.” Seungmin said, scanning through Jisung’s album collection on the shelf in total awe.

Jisung saw him take a few photos of some of them on his little pink camera phone that the boys shared, probably his next investment.

“Felix, can you come upstairs with me for a bit?” Jisung said, smiling at him as not to rouse any suspicion from him.

“But, I haven’t showed Jeongin my clay figures. I made the Sorcerer’s stone over there!” he whined, throwing his lower lip out again and stomping his foot down.

“Felix, I’ve asked you to come with me. Come on.” Jisung said, a little firmer this time, taking his hand.

“Okay…” He huffed, handing his makeshift invisibility cloak across to Jeongin.

They wandered up the stairs and made their way in to Jisung’s bedroom.

He perched Felix on the edge of his bed, looking at him; he looked totally bewildered.

“Felix. Your teacher told me that you got into a fight with another little boy at school today. Is that right?” He asked. 

Felix suddenly perked up again, panic starting to build up on his face.

Jisung could see his little hands gripping tightly on to the comforter either side of him.

“No! I didn’t…” he muttered, ducking his head down guiltily.

“Come on Felix, we don’t tell lies to each other. Tell me what happened.”

“I didn’t fight!” He shouted desperately, shaking his head from side-to-side. “I promise, promise, promise I didn’t fight!”

“I know you didn’t fight. But, did you call someone a mean name today?” Jisung said, leaning in a little closer to him.

“No!” He shouted.

“Felix? Tell me what happened.”

“I don’t want to!” He said, throwing his arms across his chest and proceeding to slink off of the edge of the bed in a huff until he was sitting on the floor, sulking.

He settled his arms over his knees. 

“Felix…” Jisung insisted, creeping down next to him, pushing his back up against the side of the bed, too. “What did you call the boy to make him push you?” He nudged Felix lightly in the side a few times. “Tell me.”

“All I said was that he was a fun-sponge because he was ruining my playtime!” Felix shouted back, gripping his hands to his knees. 

“… A what?”

“A fun-sponge!”

Jisung dropped his head down in between his knees, as he felt the laughter bubbling up inside of him in his chest.

He knew this was _a serious Father-Son_ moment, but he couldn’t stop a chuckle from slipping out of his mouth at the absurdity of it all.

He had to bite his tongue a few times.

" _That_ , was the ‘ _mean name’_?” Jisung said, as he wrapped his arm around the boy and leaned his head in closer to him. 

“Yes. I heard Jeongin’s Dad say it once. Is it really bad?”

“Oh, Felix. It’s not bad.” He chuckled. “But maybe just don’t call anyone any other names. Especially if you don’t know what they mean, okay?” he giggled, stroking Felix’s cheek with his thumb. “Someone might think it’s bad if they don’t understand it.”

“Okay, Dad.” He said, reassured, nodding back at him.

“Is your knee okay?”

“Yes. It didn’t hurt at all!” Felix exclaimed, prodding at the plaster on his leg.

Jisung pulled the freckled boy in to a hug, squeezing him tightly in his arms.

He was so relieved that Felix hadn't actually called someone else something nasty; he wasn't that kind of kid. 

Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the door that startled them both.

They made their way down the stairs, Felix holding Jisung’s hand, to see Minho’s face appear hazily in the little frosted window at the top of the door.

He was back home a bit earlier than Jisung expected.

He hadn’t even changed out of his work clothes.

Not that something like that would actually matter, because Minho would be in his work clothes too, Jisung thought.

He unlatched the door, pulling it open to greet him in.

Minho looked utterly drained; his usually perfectly smooth hair was pushed back off of his forehead; probably from thrusting his hands through it all day.

His shirt was loosened around his collar again and his sleeves were rolled up just to the elbow.

He looked… Kind of great, actually, in Jisung’s opinion, bar the faux smile that didn’t seem genuine at all through his tired expression. 

“Hey boys!” Minho said, leaning down and being engulfed in three sets of tiny arms being wrapped around him from all directions. “Thanks for picking them up Jisung.” He said, looking down at Seungmin lovingly, rubbing him on the back of his head.

“No worries at all! Work all okay?” he said, leaning up against the wall casually.

“Ugh, I guess. I’m just exhausted from working so much overtime constantly.” He said.

“Maybe you should take some time off?”

“That’d be the day.” Minho scoffed, rolling his eyes.

“I’m serious! Maybe you should take a week off during school break? Felix and I were considering going away for a bit, maybe a holiday camp or something.” He shrugged, rubbing at his neck. 

“Well, I could always try.” He laughed, breathlessly, before turning his attention back to the boys. “You ready to go, Jeongie, Seung?”

“I want to stay with Felix please, just for a little bit longer!” Jeongin said, taking a step backwards towards Jisung and taking Felix’s hand in his own with his _sock-puppetted_ hand.

It was a little out-of-character, Jisung thought; Jeongin didn’t generally make requests or demands. 

It was usually Felix insisting that Jeongin stayed, rather than the other way around.

“You’re more than welcome to join for dinner, Minho. It’s malatang night!” Jisung said cheerfully, Felix jumping up and down next to him, clapping his hands together.

“Sure, sounds great. I’d love to help out!” Minho responded.

 **7:16pm** 🐱---

Felix, Jeongin and Seungmin were currently in Jisung’s living room whilst they both prepared dinner through in the kitchen. Jeongin was playing the piano tucked away in the corner of the room, Felix sitting with his little ukulele and Seungmin just listening in, offering up lyric composition assistance. It was rather sweet, but Minho couldn’t help but wince at the noise after such a busy day at work. When he said he was exhausted earlier, it was the biggest understatement of the century.

He finished finely chopping up his ginger, garlic and scallion, way faster than Jisung was finished chopping his vegetables and tofu. Minho considered he was probably culinarily more advanced than Jisung was, he had a few years on him.

“You know, it’s not really a malatang with that little mala sauce, Jisung.” Minho laughed, looking over his shoulder to check out what Jisung was doing on his side of the counter. He looked so concentrated, with his tongue sticking out the side of his mouth…

“Felix doesn’t really do spicy food, so I make him a little separate pot with barely any spice in it. He loves it.” Jisung laughed. “This pot over here is ours.” He said, grandly gesturing to a separate broth in a deep stockpot simmering on the stove.

“Awh, that’s sweet of you to do that for him.” Minho said. He waltzed over to their pan, and added sesame paste and even more crushed garlic, throwing it in to the pot with a sizzle. He poured in more and more chili flakes, just to add a bit of spice, tipping a sizeable amount in to the broth, too.

“Wow, you really want me dead, huh?” Jisung joked, eyes blown wide open at the amount Minho was adding to the concoction.

“That’s not even hot! You wimp.” Minho laughed. “A few years back, Changbin and I would be able to decimate half a pack, at least.” He laughed, stirring the pot, and tasting it a little on the end of the wooden spoon.

“Well maybe Changbin is tougher than I am.” Jisung laughed. “You have to be pretty tough to back up the sheer confidence of that man.” Jisung sniggered, raising his eyebrows.

“Yeah, that’s no lie. He’s got a huge ego, I know. Come taste this? How is it?” Minho said, motioning across to him with his hand.

Jisung made his way across to Minho’s side, slipping both of his hands gently around Minho’s waist to lean in from his left-hand side around him. It felt, _close_ , but he and Jisung had just _become like that_ recently. He figured it was in Jisung’s nature to be touchy; he was a pretty sensitive guy, contrary to his initial impression of him.

Minho held his hand under the spoon, pouring it in to Jisung’s mouth at an angle and wiping a little off of his chin afterwards.

“It’s hot, but it’s good hot, great job. And well, you’d think with that kind of ego he’d be luckier in love huh? But he managed to lose someone like you…” Jisung joked, wriggling his eyebrows suggestively at Minho.

“Oh, stop it.” Minho retorted, flushed.

He slapped at his chest playfully, causing them both to giggle like literal school children; he felt ridiculous. 

“Actually… Funny you should mention Changbin." Minho said. "Changbin and I... He's going to take me out to _dinner_ on Saturday. He actually insisted on it.” He said, letting out a little chuckle as he stirred the malatang.

“Woah, that’s… _Wow_.” Jisung responded, clearly confused after what Minho had previously told him about Changbin.

“Weirdly, Hyunjin and I were meant to hang out, but just he cancelled out of _nowhere_ , so I couldn’t really find an excuse to say no. He messaged me late last night and we spoke about it today." Minho said, shrugging his shoulders. “He told me he still has feelings for me. I don’t know. It’s kinda dumb, I guess.” 

He noticed Jisung’s sudden tainted expression as his face dropped down a little, his shoulders relaxing instantly. Once again it wasn’t particularly subtle; he didn’t hide his distaste at Minho’s decisions well. Jisung must find him so _pathetic_ for constantly going back there with Changbin, especially after his _embarrassing_ display the other day....

Honestly, he was feeling pretty pathetic himself, so he wasn’t surprised that Jisung would find it pretty pitiful. He was sure he even saw Jisung _scoff_ at the idea.

“I'm not keeping my hopes up or anything, but he told me he wants me to give him a second chance. Or third, or whatever number chance we’re on…"

"What do the boys think?" Jisung said, moving back across to his own pot, placing his hands on the edge of the counter, and watching it simmer, not taking his eyes away from it.

"Well, I haven't really told them, but I have a suspicion Seungmin already knows…” 

**7:25pm** 🐿️---

Jisung had a strange feeling something like this was coming.

His stomach had been in knots all day at the prospect of him actually admitting that he had feelings for Minho, so it was a bit of a kick in the teeth to get news like this, too.

He didn’t know why he was surprised, particularly.

He recalled watching Changbin kiss Minho in the hallway at his house on the Saturday just gone before he and Felix came over.

It looked far too affectionate to just be two people who happened to be sleeping together.

Jisung knew he shouldn't have been prying, so he hadn't mentioned it.

It was so typical.

He told Hyunjin to cancel those plans so he could arrange something with Minho himself.

Obviously, fate wasn’t acting with his best interest at heart.

He felt ridiculous.

He really had somewhat convinced himself that Minho had some feelings for him too, or at least an attraction, but it must’ve been something he’d dreamt up in his head if he were still open to dating Changbin again.

Or maybe Jisung just wasn’t his type, romantically.

"I'm happy for you. Just, please don't get hurt, or anything." He said, exhaling, trying to focus on cooking.

"Thank you, Jisung. I've told him if anything feels wrong that we'll call it off straight away."

"Good, because you're kind of a good person, and he's _kind of_ a bit of an asshole... No offense." Jisung said.

Minho could probably tell he was trying to play it off as a bit of a joke. 

"None taken!" Minho said, nodding along. "You're not totally wrong!" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> did i steal lino's lee-vinci
> 
> yes i did  
> and what
> 
> i'm SO stoked for this comeback i've been feral watching these unveils GAH


	13. There Is Flattery In Friendship

**Saturday, 6:58pm** **🐱---**

As soon as Minho heard the knock on the door, he thought he could have been imagining. Minho had asked Changbin to pick him up at 7:00pm, so he was expecting a quarter-past arrival, he’d even not fully finished slightly bronzing his outer eyelid. Surprisingly, Changbin was on-time, and even more so, he was slightly early.

He pulled the door open, locking eyes immediately with the younger man, who was sporting a new hairstyle, shorter on the sides and longer on top. Minho rather approved of it. 

“You look great, Minho.” Changbin said, smiling at him from the doorway, hands pushed into his pockets casually, ruffling his over-sized, crisp, white shirt at the bottom where it tucked into his pants. 

“Thanks, I wasn't really sure how fancy the place would be, so I just went with a shirt.” He responded, tugging at his black duffle coat from the coat stand just next to the door in the hallway. He pulled off a striped navy and black scarf too, as it had been a little colder this week. The last thing he needed to do right now was share warmth at the end of the night with Changbin.

"Well, you always look good, anyway." Changbin said, letting go of his regular smirk, and replacing it with a smile that seemed astonishingly genuine. Minho found himself inhaling and exhaling to settle the nerves tingling inside his chest. He hadn’t been on a date in a long time, let alone with someone he was literally _married to_ for six years…

"Thanks." Minho said with a soft smile, patting himself down to re-affirm that he had everything that he needed for the evening.

"And I look... Not too bad, either?" Changbin interjected with a breathless laugh afterwards, raising his eyebrows and angling his face a little closer at the joke.

"Pah. Sorry, I guess I'm just used to yelling at you so much I forgot what compliments were. You look great." He teased. He swiftly turned backwards towards the living room, nodding across to the babysitter. “I’ll be back by ten-ish, Mina. Boys to bed by eight-thirty, okay?”

She nodded sweetly at him from the couch, where she was gently stroking Jeongin’s hair as he was already fast asleep on her lap after a long day of trying to keep up with Felix’s energy. He clocked eyes with Seungmin sitting on the armchair too, totally deadpan for just a moment. Minho returned his bizarre expression with a puzzled look, wondering what on Earth he was thinking about. Seungmin simply rolled his eyes in response, looking back to his book… He was sure he even faintly heard him _sigh_ …

Minho kind of felt like sighing at himself, too.

 **7:23pm** **🐱---**

The restaurant was overwhelmingly charming; it was almost annoying. The room was dark, dimly lit, as the walls were a pristine matte black coupled with long, thin mirrors that stretched to the ceilings, overhead lights mounted at the top of each mirror. One wall was literally just a large bay window opening out to one of the most beautiful gardens Minho had ever seen in his thirty years.

The flowerbeds were so pristine, brimming with magnificent perennial iris’ and bordered with purple haze grass. The beds surrounded a beautiful contemporary black, marble fountain piece that Minho could only wish of being bold enough to adopt himself for his own home. Changbin would have certainly have had to have spent a lot of money to get a reservation here.

As he walked through to their designated table, he couldn’t help but feel a bit excited even though he'd outwardly deny it. This was probably one of the most beautiful restaurants he’d ever been in. At the same time, he almost didn’t really feel worthy of being there. Changbin pulled his chair out for him immediately as he began to peel his coat off, and Minho couldn’t help but roll his eyes at him, scoring a chuckle from the other man as he sat down across the table afterwards.

They exchanged small talk for a while about their jobs and the boys; It was strange to small talk with someone you knew so intimately. Curiously though, it wasn’t all sarcastic patter like he had expected.

“I’m thinking of taking Seungmin and Jeongin to see that band Seungmin likes. They’re playing in a few months’ time. Do you think they’d want to go?” Changbin asked, pulling apart the mussels in his jjamppong with his hands.

“Well, of course. Why wouldn’t they?” Minho asked, not managing to hide his disdain for how messy Changbin could be. He was as bad as Felix, sometimes. Minho found himself instinctively handing the man a napkin.

“Well, Seungmin has been weird with me recently. I can’t really put my finger on it.” He said, dabbing at his mouth.

“It’s not just you that’s noticed. I think we’ve all noticed his new-found musical obsessions and _‘stylistic choices_ ’”. Minho reaffirmed, sipping at his wine glass.

“He’s growing up, I guess. He does look more mature.”

“He looks like _you_ , you mean.” Minho scoffed, shaking his head at the younger man. It was true, almost heart-wrenchingly so. “He’s 9, Changbin. He doesn’t need to look mature.”

“I know, I mean, he’ll grow out of it, I’m sure.”

“Yeah, I hope so. I miss my tiny, dandy Seung sometimes.” Minho said, staring back at Changbin with a little humorous pout across his face. “I miss him wearing his little white, woollen cricket-style shirts and button-ups.”

They both laughed between them, whilst nibbling on their respective dishes. Minho found himself relaxing more and more as the night went on, settling into something that felt comfortable and very much needed between the two of them. Even if they weren’t going to work out _romantically_ again, it felt reassuring to be able to just converse with him again without it spiralling into something else entirely.

"Min, I know this is..." He trailed off. His shoulders relaxed back into his chair as he considered what he was going to say. He fiddled with the dessert fork set out above his place, twisting it in his fingers. Changbin never knew what to do with his hands when he was nervous.

"This is… Weird? Yeah." Minho interrupted, stifling a laugh. 

"I know. I guess we're kind of used to being at each other’s necks."

"I won't point out the obvious innuendos..." Minho chuckled, trying to lighten the mood. "I just, don't really know how to act around you a lot of the time, I guess. But actually, this feels… It feels nice.” He looked back across, their eyes converging in on each other.

“Just, nice?” He asked. "Look, I'm not going to push something here if there isn't anything, you know? Maybe we just keep it kind of..."

"--Casual?" Minho interjected. "You know I don't date around, Changbin. So, if this is your way of keeping me on strings whilst you date other people then--

He leaned in quickly across the table, bridging the gap between them and reaching for Minho’s hand, placing his own overtop.

"I'm not dating anyone else." He said. “I meant it when I said it wasn’t just physical. I know you think I just joke around all the time but... I’m really trying.”

"I know.” He said, glancing around the luxurious room. “God, you're making this hard, you know that?" Minho scoffed, finding his own hand turning over to feel the tenderness of Changbin’s fingers beneath his palm. “I’d like to think I’m not that easy to win over, but here you are again.”

“Sheesh, I already knew that. It was so hard to get you to like me when we first started dating. Remember? I’d literally taken you on six dates before you even considered dropping honorifics or even holding my hand.” Changbin mocked.

“Well, I had to make you work for it, at least. Plus, that was a decade ago, I’m much less uptight now, right?” Minho said, closing his eyes smugly, a wide grin forming across his face.

 **6:58pm** 🐿️---

Jisung pulled his blind aside, peeking out to look across at Minho’s house as he heard the engine of Changbin’s dumb car drowning out his record player.

He was wearing black slacks and a shirt that seemed to fit him well across the shoulders but looked colossal everywhere else, making his waist look smaller.

Jisung couldn’t deny that he was a fairly attractive guy; it kind of pissed him off.

“What are you doing, Dad?” Felix suddenly said, tugging at his shirt, startling him to the point where he nearly fell through the blinds.

“Fe-Felix! Sheesh! Don’t scare me like that.” He said, placing his hand on his heart and exhaling deeply as if he’d just had a near-death experience.

“Sorry Daddy…” he said glumly, gripping at Jisung’s shirt a few times in apology.

“It’s okay, Kiddo.” He said, wrapping his hand around the freckled boys head behind him as he turned back around.

He looked out of the blind again, refocusing on the exchange outside, ducking his head through the slats to try and work out if Minho’s face was giving anything away as he stood in the doorway.

He really had become one of his eavesdropping neighbours, he thought.

“Are you watching the cats?” Felix asked innocently. “I watch them too, sometimes. I like the littlest one best. She seems like she is fun! She does lots of catching things and running around and playing! I think the other cats don't play with her so much because she is a bit smaller so--”

“--Uh, sure. That's great Felix. Yeah. I’m spying on--I mean, I’m watching the cats.”

Jisung had to tell himself that he absolutely would not be staying up to see how this date panned out.

He definitely wasn’t going to wait up until God-knows-when just for reassurance that Changbin and Minho weren’t rekindling their romance.

Minho had been quite standoffish about the whole scenario, causing Jisung to believe it was likely that this would be another passing thing as usual, so he’d eventually get his shot.

He had told him about how many times he and Changbin had broken up; it was so unlikely this date would be any different to the times before.

Right?

 **10:04pm** **🐱---**

Minho always had to stoop so low to get out of Changbin’s obnoxiously low-to-the-ground car. He was a little taller than Changbin, so he always managed to hit his head at some point; today was no exception. They both clambered out, the street deadly silent apart from the sound of the car doors closing and the occasional mewl from a neighbourhood cat or two…

Changbin closed his door behind him as Minho stood out of the car and walked him back across to his yard and up the path with a hand on his back. It was colder now, and Minho had resorted to wearing the scarf before Changbin offered his jacket.

“This has been… Fun?” Changbin said, lacing his words with concern about how Minho had found the encounter. He tried to smile and play it off, but it was obvious he was anxious about what Minho was going to say next. Something about Changbin seeming exposed felt almost welcome.

“Yeah. I _actually_ had a good time.” Minho said, turning to look at him for the final time before he was heading up his veranda steps slowly.

“ _Actually?_ Did you think you _wouldn’t_ have a good time with me?” Changbin questioned, his voice muffled slightly.

“Well…” Minho exclaimed, taking another step up the porch to the front door, then coming to a halt. He turned back to look at the man standing on his lawn.

“We were together for six years Minho, we must’ve had some things in common, right?” He said, trying to stifle his disappointment at Minho’s comment, dipping his head to look at his feet for a moment whilst shoving his hands deep into his pockets. He probably had nervous hands, once again.

He turned a little as if he were about to walk away. It was just enough for Minho to pick up on the slither of remorse showing in his eyes. Minho felt _the thump_ ; his heart had started to pound at the sight. He couldn’t work out what he was feeling. All he knew is, Changbin really was not a bad person _at all_ , no matter how much he insisted on pretending he was for the sake of his image. 

He reached his hand out for him, to welcome him up to the steps just outside of the door. Changbin accepted it, slipping one hand out of his own pocket, and reaching for Minho’s’. He squeezed his middle three fingers in his palms tenderly and took the brief few steps up, so that he was standing eye-to-eye with Minho on his level; or as near as two people could be with a nearly 6cm difference in height could be.

They stood there for a fleeting moment; Minho not entirely sure what to do next. Changbin’s hair was illuminated softly by the slight touch of the moonlight streaming in across his porch, and Minho couldn’t really remember a time he looked so captivating…

“I guess I almost wanted this night to go badly.” Minho said. Changbin simply nodded along as if he understood where he was coming from.

“What’s the protocol here, then?” Changbin said awkwardly, as if he really was taking Minho back home to his parents’ house after their first date, all over again. 

“Well, you’re certainly not coming in tonight, if that’s what you’re thinking.” Minho mocked, trying to relieve some of the tension hanging over the conversation.

“Very funny.” He retorted. “You’re something else, Min.”

Changbin wrapped both of his hands around Minho’s, raising them to his chest as he parted their fingers, interlinking each one-by-one slowly. It was gentle; too gentle for how they usually were. Minho thought back to a time when this was just the way they acted together, early on in their relationship.

For a moment, a brief moment at least, it felt real again.

It dawned on him how frivolously he’d taken this whole situation, considering _he_ was the one practically _begging_ for more whenever Changbin made a move on him. For the last few years, he’d desperately fought to keep Changbin’s attention, lapping up the tiniest compliment or hanging on to any semblance of what their normality used to be. He’d hoped that Changbin would love him back again after he so miserably failed to let him go. He was so hung up on the younger man for years and years.

Now, here he was, in front of him, perfectly presented and just for him.

Changbin leaned in towards him, settling his lips gently against Minho’s delicately. It was tender, sweet almost. It only lasted a few seconds before Changbin unlinked their fingers and instead wrapped them around the older man’s waist, placing his head in the crook of his neck and bringing him closer into his arms. They held each other; Minho didn’t really know how much time had passed by the end of it.

A few months ago, it would have been the kiss that Minho so desperately craved.

 **10:08pm** 🐿️---

He watched as Changbin waltzed back to his car, slipping into the driver’s side.

He seemed to wave at Minho and shouted something back to him that Jisung couldn’t hear before driving away down the road, leaving Minho standing at the door in his blue shirt and black pants that hugged his legs so perfectly, like he’d been sewn into them.

Jisung felt the all-too-familiar feeling of knowing that Minho, somehow, _still_ belonged to Changbin.

He’d seen them kiss just minutes before.

He’d watched the whole thing, even though he knows he shouldn’t have.

It felt like something was laying thick and heavy across his chest, pushing at his ribcage, and twisting at his heart as he watched his chances slip away, yet again.

Minho had said he would call it off if it didn’t feel right, and he’d seemed so sure that he wasn’t bothered by the whole thing.

So why was he kissing him?

The kiss looked so raw and delicate, like a kiss between two people who just understood each other, and who were meant to be together.

He watched again, as Minho just stood there aimlessly, looking at the door and not going back inside long after Changbin had driven away down the street.

He even saw the face of a confused young girl drawing the curtains and looking out of the window down the road for signs of his arrival.

The older man suddenly turned around, yanking his tie off with both hands and slinging it roughly around his neck in exasperation.

He dropped down to the top step, sitting down on it messily, and throwing his head backwards to look back up to the sky. 

His jaw looked so beautifully sharp and defined, unlike the soft, almost tearful look he had on his face.

Jisung wondered if Minho had invited him in and Changbin had declined, or if it were too late and he had to get home for something in the morning, cutting their date shorter than he’d have liked.

He pulled the blind back, turning back around to look at Felix, who’d fallen asleep on the couch hours before after making bead bracelets at the coffee table.

There were probably more beads scattered across the floor then were even on the table or part of any bracelet Jisung could see, but he didn’t care.

That could be a ‘tomorrow problem’.

He scooped the tiny blonde boy up in his arms, cradling him for a moment whilst he stirred and then settling him over his shoulder, inhaling his sweet, flowery scent mixed in with just a hint of acrylic paint.

He needed to focus his energy elsewhere moving forward.

Minho obviously had made his mind up. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> long ending notes incoming and i'll start off these notes on a much lighter note:
> 
> i have this ongoing joke with my friend that i'm a bit of a skz prophet  
> in my last fic i joked about minsung being 'outed by dispatch' and then in two kids song Lino said the same joke. then i wrote my seungmin/jisung chapter about how much they both love day6 and then the Congratulations cover dropped. then i characterise felix as a lil craft-loving angel whose favourite colour is purple and wears pretty much exclusively blue and pink and this week he literally makes bracelets on vlive in purple, blue and pink lol  
> so, there's my little happiness for the day.
> 
> anyway, on a much more serious note, (tw / sexual assault):  
> in light of recent events with the wj allegations, i hope everyone is doing well emotionally. it's difficult to accept that some people just aren't what you thought, especially when they're painted the way idols are. i started stanning SKZ shortly after his departure but a lot of the songs he played a big role in were some of my favourites. so, it's really shitty to find out this kind of stuff took/was taking place and how the victims must've felt about coming out about these topics in an industry that often turns a blind eye to these things.
> 
> i've always wholeheartedly supported skz as an 8 because, honestly; it was all i knew, and they seemed so hurt by the departure. it's been a rough few days, but lets all just make sure we come together as a powerful, ever-growing fandom and give skz the best comeback yet, because they truly, truly deserve it so much. let's get them a win. STAY safe and as always, thank you so much for reading. I've even decided to maybe cut back on how angsty this fic was going to be, as I've decided we might just all need something a little happier in our lives right now <3


	14. My Stronger Guilt Defeats My Strong Intent

**Friday, 5:58pm** **🐱---**

Dating Changbin again wasn't unpleasant. Actually, it was quite the opposite. They'd been 'unofficially' dating for three weeks, and within that time, they hadn't argued once. So, aside from Seungmin's occasional snide remarks about how much time they’d been spending together, things were actually going well. Changbin had even been splurging on more extravagant dates and had sent him a bouquet of obnoxious red roses a few days ago which were now _pride of place_ on his fireplace mantelpiece.

It was almost becoming infuriating to see him being so intensely romantic and thoughtful; he'd started to even miss the banter that he couldn't stand mere weeks ago... Something felt off, something that Minho couldn't quite place. He considered that he’d either grown bored of Changbin constantly showering him with affections or if he really just was a _terrible person_. Who else dotes over their ex that _they_ broke up with, only to win them back and instantly almost regret it?

Changbin was attractive, financially stable, and a wonderful Dad, so he should just be happy with the fact that they’d rekindled their relationship...

Jisung and Felix were round tonight at Jeongin's request. They'd decided to order in Chinese take-out, and all watch some terrible Friday-night television, littered with overly-saturated commercials. It was nauseatingly domestic, but in a totally _platonic_ way, of course.

Minho wondered how they'd managed to fit all five of them on a three-seater, but with Felix on Jisung's lap, and Jeongin squished up beside him and Minho, they even had room for Soonie to sprawl across Seungmin’s legs on the other side of Jisung at the other end.

Usually, Minho wouldn’t really let the cats on the couch unless there was a blanket underneath them, but he figured he would let it slide this one time. He was trying to be more relaxed about that kind of thing, recently...

Minho found himself constantly having to fight an inner battle whenever he was around Jisung. Watching Jisung snuggled up with the boys on the couch was becoming more and more overwhelming every time. They'd started to hang out every other weekend; with Felix's Mom cancelling so often, nearly like clockwork, much to Minho's secret approval.

Felix was precious to him now, and Minho had noticed that he was becoming a little quieter recently. It was probably down to the crushing feeling of having your own Mom cancel on you week after week. Minho wanted to protect him, it was almost like instinct; he'd started treating Felix as if he were one of his own, too.

By this stage, Minho knew that he'd developed some pretty deep feelings for Jisung. It was pretty obvious, and the feelings were only were growing stronger with every English book he helped Seungmin with, every time he helped Jeongin with his piano, every little thing he did, in fact. He had tried to stifle them as much as he could for the sake of his own sanity and the respect he had for Changbin, but it was becoming _difficult..._

 **6:27pm** **🐱---**

“Jeongin, can you try and find Dori out back? It’s dinner time.” Minho asked, tapping at the remote to bring the television volume down and stretching his arms above his head.

“I want to help find Dori Cat too!” Felix added, perking up suddenly on Jisung’s lap, just as Minho knew he would.

“Of course you can help, Felix.” He said, smiling at the freckled boy.

“And I want to help give them the food too!” He said, frantically nodding his head. “I can do it; I promise I can! I won’t make a mess!” He begged. Minho stroked his hair gently, nodding at his request.

They both slipped off of the couch, Felix first, as per usual. He took Jeongin’s hand and bounded out of the room through the hall to get their shoes.

He looked across to Seungmin, who had his arms tightly wrapped around Jisung’s bicep on the other side of the couch, his face crushed against it making his cheeks look _extra_ pillowy. He’d never been one to engage in skinship with anyone other than him, so it was unusual to see him snuggled up to Jisung with Soonie settled in on top of them. 

Minho tried to find something to get Seungmin to get him to leave the two men alone, but he couldn’t really find an excuse. Seung looked so content, so maybe he should put aside his selfish desires for the time bei—

“Oh, Dad! I forgot. I got the tickets and the line-up for the talent show!” He said, looking across to him.

“Oh, that’s great, Seung. Make sure you put it on the calendar.” Minho said, beaming back at him.

“I’ll do it now! Sorry, Soonie.” He said, timidly lifting him up under his front legs and dropping him back down to the floor. He swiftly exited into the hall too, swinging himself around the railing of the stairs, propelling himself upwards and darting up the steps to his room.

As soon as there was more space on the couch, Jisung immediately scooted over to him, relaxing across it. It was a bit of an on-going in-joke between them about how much space Jisung took up compared to him. The younger man rested his head against his shoulder automatically; Minho could feel the warmth of his red headband against his arm. He really didn’t need to be thinking about Jisung snuggled up against his side right now…

“Oh. Sorry. Is it okay if I rest my head on you? Or would… Would Changbin not like that?” Jisung said, a tinge of worry in his voice as if he’d gone too far.

“I’m sure it’s fine Jisung. We’re friends, right?” Minho said, trying to keep the conversation light.

He internally cringed at using the word ‘ _friend’_ around someone he cared about exponentially more than just a _friend_ ; but it wasn’t like Jisung ever reciprocated his feelings anyway. Plus, he had Changbin back now and he needed to stay focused. If he didn’t set boundaries now, he’d really be setting himself up for failure around Jisung. 

“Yeah, I just know that things between you are going well, I wouldn’t want to be too clingy if it’s weird. I know I can kind of get like that. You may have noticed Felix is kind of the same.” Jisung laughed, pulling away from Minho slightly.

“No, no!” Minho said immediately, hauling him backwards towards his body with all his might. “It’s fine. I like it.”

Minho groaned, what was he just saying about boundaries...?

“Okay, just let me know if you ever feel uncomfortable or anything. I can be heavy!” Jisung joked, wriggling back towards him, and tucking his head just beneath his arm.

“You, heavy?” Minho retorted sarcastically.

“I guess I’m not heavy compared to your stacked-out boyfriend, but I can still—”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Jisung.” Minho snapped back, almost entirely too defensively for the tone of the conversation. “He’s just my… Ex-husband that I guess I’m dating… Again, for the 12th time…” He shook his head at how utterly absurd the entire thing was.

“Oh. Sorry. I’d seen you two recently, you seemed really sweet together. I thought you wanted to be official with him after all that drama from before?”

"Well, I thought I did. He's trying, I know he is. I just... I can't help but feel like, it's a little too late, you know? Plus, him constantly trying to be romantic actually makes me... I don't know. I know it's not _really_ him. I mean _, it is him_ , but… I don’t know. maybe I've just gone off of romance after all this time..."

Jisung shifted away from Minho’s arm so he could gage the reaction on his face. He reached across to his coffee on the table in front with as little movement as possible as not to disturb Soonie.

"Well, maybe cut him some slack? You said it yourself that he wasn't particularly affectionate and stuff, and now he is being more affectionate with you and you're still not satisfied?" Jisung laughed, shaking his head, and looking back to the television.

"It's different! I like romance but, not when it's _forced_?” he said, not really entirely sure if even he was buying it. “Plus, _red roses_? Kind of cliché, don't you think?" He scoffed, gesturing to the two-dozen red roses on the mantel.

He knew he was kind of being a bitch. He definitely appreciated the roses; he was just looking for excuses to convince himself that he and Changbin actually weren’t compatible, and there was _something_ negative about him. But he was clutching at straws, at this point…

"You're unbelievable, Minho. You're actually making me side with him!" Jisung chuckled.

"Well, I think, this whole thing… It's played out. I'm really starting to think that I’m just with him because I wanted to be so badly, for so long.”

"Well, if that's how you feel Minho, you should do something about it. You shouldn't just _string him along_ if you don't feel the same way for him anymore." Jisung retorted, more dismissively than Minho was happy with.

" _Me_ string _him_ along?!” He blinked widely a few times. “Jisung, this is the man who played me like a fiddle for like two years after we broke up.” He responded, semi-offended and startling Soonie again with his outburst. “He literally weaselled his way back in when I was ready to move on the first time. I'm done with being messed around. He only started being this way when he felt threatened because of y—" He quickly shut down what he was saying before he said something he _really_ shouldn’t.

They clocked each other for just a moment, Minho a little breathless. Jisung was totally expressionless, almost a little stunned at his reaction. He placed his coffee back down and slipped his arms around the back of the couch, relaxing self-righteously.

"Well, there you go." Jisung said, smugly closing his eyes, a smile spreading across his face. "It sounds like you have the solution you were looking for." He reached one of his arms up and gave himself a comedic pat on the shoulder…

"Ah..." Minho exhaled, slumping his body back down. "You sly thing... You're not gonna give me some crap about how _'the answer was inside of me all along'_ are you?" he said, shoving playfully at Jisung’s arm.

"Not at all. I just give the best advice! Plus, you're right. The faux romance, he _obviously_ doesn't know you as well as he thought.” He said, letting out a little ‘pfft’ and shoving Minho back. “He should have gone for _white_ roses or white lilies with baby's breath, that's what you always keep in your house."

"What?"

"The flowers in your house are always white and cream because it goes with your 'color scheme', right?" Jisung laughed.

"Oh, yeah. Right. The red does look out of place." Minho buffered. Jisung was so thoughtful, he honestly thought of everything. He even noticed the tiny nuances of his own personality that he hadn't even picked up on himself.

They settled again, Jisung nuzzling back against his chest, a little higher so that he his head was making subtle contact with the crook of Minho’s neck. Minho wrapped his arm around the back of the couch, behind Jisung’s shoulders. When he looked down, he could feel the tickle of Jisung’s hair brushing up against his top lip; they were just so close. The hint of acrylic-paint-aroma had subsided today, so all he could smell was coconut.

He found himself moving his arm from behind the back of the couch and instead, dropping it downwards, encasing Jisung’s shoulder so they really were wrapped around one another. Jisung immediately shimmied in even closer.

“Is this okay?” Jisung softly asked nearly under his breath, his eyelashes fluttering a little as he became content with the warmth between them.

“Yeah, of course.” Minho blushed, not that Jisung could see it from where he was.

Jisung reached for the hand that Minho had draped around his shoulder and squeezed it gently before lifting his head out of the crook of his neck, craning his head backwards to look at him. He didn’t let go of his hand.

“How about this?” Jisung asked innocently, staring at him through his huge, dark doe-eyes. His cheeks were puffed up cutely, more than usual, as a little smile tugged at his lips.

Minho stumbled over his own breath and the words hitched; he had no idea what to say. All he knew is, if Changbin saw this, he would definitely _not_ see this as a _platonic interaction_.

He couldn’t believe this was the way Jisung acted with his friends, it was too much. He was way too sweet for his own good, he really had no idea what he was doing to the older man. For some reason, all he could think was about how much he wanted it to continue, though.. He felt himself involuntarily moisten his lower lip, drawing it in to his mouth. _He wanted to kiss him, so badly._ He was sure he’d imagined Jisung glance down to his own lips for a split second, too.

"Dad!" someone suddenly shouted, coupled with the sound of his newly painted front door being slammed closed.

"Yes?!" They both immediately responded, turning around in unison.

“Dori Cat has found us a mouse friend!” Felix shouted, with a big grin across his face.

“Oh… Oh no.” 

Minho wasn't sure what he'd prefer to do; clean up leftover rodent, or dwell on how atrocious he felt about wanting to kiss Jisung so badly behind Changbin's back. 

**6:42pm** **🐿️---**

“I’m sure it’s fine, Jisung. We’re friends, right?” Minho said, looking back to him with a sweet smile on his face.

It felt like a punch straight to the gut for some reason.

He missed out on telling Minho how he felt _twice,_ and now he was being _literally_ friend-zoned.

Minho was dating Changbin, and Jisung really needed to remind himself of that before he let his feelings get the better of him, like he often did.

“Yeah, I just know that things between you are going well, I wouldn’t want to be too clingy if it’s weird. I know I can kind of get like that.” He said, rubbing at his neck awkwardly. “You may have noticed Felix is kind of the same.”

“No, no! It’s fine. I like it.” Minho retorted, pulling him back towards him.

“Okay, just let me know if you ever feel uncomfortable or anything. I can be heavy!” Jisung joked.

“You, heavy?” Minho scoffed back, swatting at him.

The comment was meant to be harmless, but it only served to remind Jisung that although he worked out, he was always going to have a smaller frame than Changbin.

Maybe that was the problem, maybe Minho had a _'type'_ that he just didn't fit. 

“I guess I’m not heavy compared to your stacked-out boyfriend, but I can still—”

“He’s not my boyfriend, Jisung.” Minho suddenly said, almost too seriously. “He’s just my… Ex-husband that I guess I’m dating… Again, for the 12th time…” He shook his head and Jisung found himself stifling a little laugh.

It was pretty absurd.

“Oh. Sorry. I’d seen you two recently, you seemed really sweet together. I thought you wanted to be official with him after all that drama from before?” Jisung asked.

"Well, I thought I did. He's trying, I know he is. I just can't help but feel like, it's a little too late, you know? Plus, him constantly trying to be romantic actually makes me... I don't know. I know it's not _really_ him. I mean _, it is him_ , but… I don’t know. maybe I've just gone off of romance after all this time..."

Jisung moved away from Minho’s arm to look at him sarcastically with a hugely over-exaggerated eyebrow raise. He exhaled, before reaching for his coffee and taking a small sip.

"Well, maybe cut him some slack? You said it yourself that he wasn't particularly affectionate and stuff, and now he is being more affectionate with you and you're still not satisfied?" Jisung said, trying to make it seem like he really didn’t care either way.

"It's different! I like romance but, not when it's forced? Plus, _red roses_? Kind of cliché, don't you think?" He grimaced looking at the beautiful stack of super-expensive-looking red roses that were in a new vase on the mantel. 

"You're unbelievable, Minho. You're actually making me side with him!" he said.

He hoped Minho really wasn’t that superficial, but honestly Jisung just thought he was being nit-picky because he was looking for excuses to make himself feel better.

Jisung couldn’t believe that Minho would be _complaining_ about how romantic Changbin was being, after moaning about how he wanted to be more than just a one-night stand.

"Well, I think, this whole thing… It's played out.” Minho said, looking back down to his hands.

Jisung tilted his head a little at the comment in bewilderment.

“I'm really starting to think that I’m just with him because I wanted to be so badly, for so long.” The older man said, dropping his head a little, almost looking remorseful about what he’d just said.

Jisung tried to keep his cool and play devil’s advocate.

The last thing he wanted to do was tell Minho to keep trying to make it work with Changbin, but at the same time he felt a little guilty at feeling so happy that they weren’t working out like he thought they were.

"Well, if that's how you feel Minho, you should do something about it. You shouldn't just _string him along_ if you don't feel the same way for him anymore." He said lackadaisically, in a way that he knew would rile Minho up.

He noticed that Minho balled his fists up beside him; he was about to erupt.

" _Me_ string _him_ along?! Jisung, this is the man who played me like a fiddle for like two years after we broke up. He literally weaselled his way back in when I was ready to move on the first time. I'm done with being messed around. He only started being this way when he felt threatened because of y—"

He stopped, a little panic sweeping across his face.

Because of ‘ _you’,_ Jisung thought.

So, Changbin _had_ caught on to Jisung’s feelings for Minho.

Jisung didn’t know whether to feel pissed off that Changbin would set his sights on Minho again only because he felt threatened, or secretly smug at the fact that he’d made that much of an impact on him.

Changbin might be able to sneeze him in two, but he obviously felt that there was something between him and Minho that he wanted to interfere with before it materialised. 

Jisung could hear Minho’s breathing, it was a little erratic.

He tried to compose himself and leant back into the chair with an exhale.

"Well, there you go. It sounds like you have the solution you were looking for." He punctuated his comment with a little pat on the shoulder, secretly proud about how he’d managed to get Minho to tell him how he felt about Changbin.

Minho shook his head at him, before running his tongue across his top teeth sarcastically.

"You sly thing. You're not gonna give me some crap about how _'the answer was inside of me all along'_ are you?“ The older man teased.

Minho pushed at his arm mockingly, making Jisung nearly lose his balance; Minho was stronger than he looked.

He shoved back with both hands, but lightly, as not to hurt him.

"Not at all. I just give the best advice! Plus, you're right. The faux romance, he _obviously_ doesn't know you as well as he thought.”

Jisung couldn’t hold back.

He needed to let Minho know that they were a better match, but he was scared of if he’d reciprocate it.

Afterall, although he’d admitted he wasn’t totally sold on Changbin, he was clearly someone who had morals and would respect the other man in this kind of situation.

Jisung knew that, but he still couldn’t stop himself shooting his shot.

“He should have gone for white roses or white lilies with baby's breath, that's what you always keep in your house." He said, acting totally nonchalant like he hadn’t been taking mental notes of everything Minho liked for the past few months.

"What?" The older man said, looking a little perplexed.

Jisung wondered if he’d said something weird.

Was it weird to notice what flowers your neighbours liked?

He pondered if maybe he’d come off as a little _creepy_ , so he tried to defend himself a little.

"The flowers in your house are always white and cream because it goes with your 'color scheme', right?" he laughed nervously, looking back to the TV and acting like he wasn’t figuratively imploding on the inside.

"Oh, yeah. Right. The red does look out of place." Minho said, looking across to them.

A silence washed over them, so he settled back against Minho’s chest, but a little lower this time as it was more comfortable.

He wasn’t expecting anything to be returned, but suddenly, Minho wrapped his own arm around Jisung’s shoulders, settling his hand on Jisung’s arm just below his bicep.

It caught him off guard, but it was a welcome gesture.

“Is this okay?” Jisung asked, genuinely curious.

“Yeah, of course.” Minho said softly.

Jisung felt a strange surge of self-confidence and decided he would take Minho’s hand in to his own.

He wouldn’t link their fingers or anything, that would be way too far, probably.

He just reached for his hand, and softly squeezed his palm in between his fingers for a few seconds.

He had no idea why he kept pushing his luck, but to his surprise, once again, Minho responded by squeezing back.

He didn’t let go.

So there they were, Jisung affectionately against his chest, Minho’s arm wrapped around him, with their hands gently holding the others’.

He should feel guilty.

He should _totally_ feel guilty.

“How about this?” Jisung looked up to him, glancing over his face trying to focus on his eyes.

All he could notice now was how close Minho’s lips were to his skin, now.

He couldn’t stop looking at how plush and pink they looked; it almost seemed like a crime not to kiss them.

He was sure that he noticed Minho lick his lips, but he tried not to dwell on it before he drove himself crazy at the thought that only Changbin had experienced what it felt like to taste them. 

"Dad!" Felix suddenly shouted from outside, rushing in from the front door.

"Yes?" They both said, responding to the name at the same time, before looking to each other and laughing. 

“Dori Cat has found us a mouse friend!” Felix exclaimed excitedly, clapping his hands together.

“Oh… Oh no.” Minho said, jumping up immediately.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a little different in terms of time styling. i have been playing around with the 'time' dynamic a little throughout this fic, but this is the first time we've really got two different views on the exact time time of something happening since early on.
> 
> i realised i mostly write as minho because he is more descriptive, so apologies if it seems like i'm neglecting jisung-sided writing. i just don't enjoy his writing stylization as much as minho's lol
> 
> thank you for reading <3  
> IT'S NEARLY COMEBACK TIME Y'ALL!


	15. Love Is Not Love When It Is Mingled With Regards

**Friday, 12:32pm** **🐱---**

 _12:32:_ **Changbin**

Hope work's okay today

Can't wait to see you tonight

xx

 _ 13:38: _ **Me**

Work's hell on Earth, as usual!

Luckily, it's 5:00pm finish today so I get out a little earlier today.

Can't wait to see you too.

xx

Minho sighed.

He'd arranged for Jisung to collect Seungmin and Jeongin whilst he went on his date with Changbin. It was incredibly bittersweet and embarrassing, but he had no one else to turn to as his usual babysitter was 'up-to-her-ears' in exam prep. He'd managed to convince Jisung to collect the boys early, around 6:30pm so he could get ready for Changbin's arrival at 7:00pm.

 **6:35pm** **🐱---**

Jisung had stopped by to pick the kids up, bringing Felix along too. He'd dropped off some baked goods that Felix had covered in bright pink, watery icing that was soaking through to the bottom of the tin. Honestly, it they looked like something Dori could have dragged in half-alive the other night. Minho had just invited them to the living room in for a short while just whilst Seungmin and Jeongin finished getting their sleepover things together as he'd run a little behind at work, even though he was on the early shift…

"These are amazing Felix. Did you really bake them yourself?" Minho asked, nibbling at the partially burnt chocolate chip cookie dripping with practically-fluorescent fuchsia icing that Felix had handed to him. He cupped his hand underneath it, hoping not to end up with a baby-pink stain on his living room carpet.

"Yes! Daddy helped but he's not very good at baking, so I do most of the work, but he helps me with the oven!" Felix beamed with a mouthful of cookie, lapping at the icing on his fingers like a cat. Minho simply smiled at him and wiped the crumbs from the corner of his mouth as Jisung giggled softly at his comments from the other side of the couch. 

"Maybe you could give us a hand one day Minho. You're good at cooking, right?" Jisung enquired.

"I'm good at cooking, I'm not so good at baking. Though, I may not pass up the option to see you in an apron..." Minho teased playfully, poking at Jisung's stomach.

"I'd look good in anything; I don't know what you're talking about!" Jisung retorted, catching his hands in his own and pulling him forward. They twisted around each other, practically play-fighting until they were chest to chest and their faces mere inches apart.

"Okay! Okay! Truce!” Minho said, turning his face away. “Ew. You smell like paint..." Minho teased, wincing his nose and fake gagging.

"And you smell like no fun, as per usual!" Jisung retorted, winding his head to the left to try and catch Minho’s eyes.

"Do you want me to install a ball-pit?" He threatened.

"Please no, I'd pay to _not_ see that turn of events again..." Jisung smirked, running his tongue over his top lip.

There was a sudden knock on the door; it sounded like Changbin's signature three-knocks-that-were-unnecessarily-too-hard. He'd literally just had that door painted. Minho looked towards the opening between the hall and the door, then back to Jisung who simply gave him a confused little smile.

He slipped across to the door, peeking out of the peephole. Without a doubt, it was Changbin. He'd gone from always being late, to being annoyingly early. He pulled the door open cautiously with a _creek_ and peered his head out.

"Bin, you're here early?" he said, involuntarily gulping, a tinge of alarm to his tone. 

"Yeah, I saw you finished early so I thought I'd surprise you." He took a step inside the doorway, wrapping his hands around the small of Minho's back and drawing him in immediately to envelope him in a hug. "Wow, you smell great. Like frosting."

"The boys are still here, be careful." Minho warned, slipping his hands in between them and pushing their bodies apart just a fraction.

"Don't you think it's time we told them? I've been thinking it might make everything easier."

"I don't... I don't think that's a good idea, Changbin."

"Hi Daddy!" Jeongin shouted, running out to see him. Felix followed after, absorbed by how energetic Jeongin was around his Dad.

"Hey Jeongie." He released Minho's waist to encompass Jeongin in his arms and swing him around like he usually did. "How's my little one? And what the heck is all over you?!" Changbin said, dropping him across to his waist with one hand. He swiped at the pink, sticky substance that was now at risk of ruining his black button up shirt.

"Hello!" A little voice said from the hallway. "I'm Felix! Nice to meet you, Jeongin’s _other_ Daddy. I live at number 16!"

He waved at Changbin, his purple and yellow striped sweater far too big for him and hanging off the tips of his fingers as he waved it from side-to-side.

"Oh, hi Felix." Changbin said, smiling across to him. "You're Jeongin’s friend, aren't you?" He placed Jeongin down carefully and lowered himself to Felix's level, placing his hands on his knees.

"Best friend!" Felix interjected, clutching at the end of his sweaterpaws and extending his hand out. Changbin grabbed at his sleeve and gave it a little shake up and down.

"Ha, okay. Best friend!" Changbin agreed, nodding at him.

"Wow you are very strong!” He shouted, grabbing at Changbin’s arm.

"Felix, what did I say about being too loud when we're at Minho's hou-- _Oh?_ " Jisung appeared behind the opened door to the hallway, Seungmin firmly attached to his left arm. He looked across to Minho, then back to Changbin, a little surprised.

Minho knew Changbin would make a big deal out of this. To make matters worse, Jisung looked more attractive than he’d ever looked before. His hair was dark and tousled, tucked slightly under a bucket hat and he was wearing a loose-fitting white T-shirt and black skinny jeans, which was a change to his regular night-time outfit selection that usually consisted of baggy pants and hoodie that nearly always clashed…

"Ah? Jisung, isn't it?" Changbin said. "Nice to see you again."

"Yeah, Changbin. Nice to see you again, too." He nodded in response.

"What're you doing here?" Changbin questioned, shooting a subtle glance at Minho as he did.

"Oh, I, erm. Well, I'm picking up Seungmin and Jeongin."

"Ah. Interesting. Couldn't just, pick them up at the door, huh?" He mumbled, under his breath, looking back down to Jeongin.

"Changbin..." Minho interjected, swiping at his stomach lightly with the back of his hand. "Don't."

" _Actually_ , I usually do, but Minho invited me in this time." Jisung responded coolly.

"I see. Well, we better get going, Min.” He placed his hand against Minho's side, then slowly slipped it downwards grasp at Minho's hand, prying his fingers apart and interlocking them. Minho felt a prang of dread travel through him as soon as he’d realised what he had done.

"Wait. Why are you holding hands...?" Seungmin suddenly said, re-appearing from behind Jisung's leg and letting go of his hand. He stepped forward with a little frown on his face, pointing his finger at their interwoven fingers. Jeongin looked across too, looking confused.

"Seungmin, look, I know—" Minho started.

"Holding hands is for couples… You are in a couple again!" He said, passive-aggressively throwing his hands up in the air.

"Seung, we are not in a couple again, it's just—"

"You did this last time and now it’s happening again!" he shouted. He balled his hands up into little fists in front of his chest, visibly shaking.

"Seung, calm down and stop making a scene.” Changbin said nonchalantly.

"Don't tell me to calm down! You said you were getting back together last time! Then Dad moved out of the house again!" He said, looking directly at Changbin, angry tears forming in his eyes.

"Seungmin." Changbin piped up suddenly, making him jump. "I'm getting _sick to death_ of this attitude you've picked up. Wind your neck in, I’m _not_ going to ask you again." He snarled.

Changbin was rather scary when he wanted to be, and he could see Seungmin falter under his gaze, but he tried to act grown up as if he wasn't worried. Minho looked across to a very confused Felix and an even more confused looking Jeongin. His lip had started to shake at the sight of Seungmin and Changbin arguing. Felix wrapped his tiny fingers around Jeongin's arm as he started to speak.

"Are you getting back together?" Jeongin asked hesitantly. He took his own little step forward, before Felix pulled him backwards towards him, ducking slightly at the noise.

"Jeongie. Let's play instead of fighting, please." Felix said to him calmly.

"I knew this would happen. Every time you get back together again you break up and you make it worse for everyone." Seungmin said, his voice breaking a little at the end of his sentence. 

"Boys, that's enough. We'll talk about this later. Jisung has kindly said you can stay at his tonight and I don't want to hear any more about this. Do you understand me?" Minho added, firmly.

He exhaled; pain consuming him from how broken down Seungmin looked staring back up at him. Jisung got down on one knee and placed his hand on Seungmin's shoulder, coaxing him backwards a little to perch down on his leg from behind him. Seungmin immediately turned himself around and flung his arms around Jisung’s neck, trying to hold back his tears.

"Come on everyone, let's get going, okay? The grownups need to talk now, okay Buddy?" Jisung said, patting his back gently. “Come on, it’s okay.”

From his periphery, Minho caught Changbin smacking his lips together at the sight of Jisung and Seungmin interacting in the way they did. His eyes furrowed and he wrapped his arms tightly around his chest, puffing his torso out like he usually did.

He was sure that if they didn't leave now, this was only going to get worse. He caught Changbin’s eye and mouthed " _Please don't start_ " at him, making him shake his head and then relax a little with a subtle exhale of breath. Jisung lifted Seungmin up with a little _'oof'_ , cradling him around his waist. Minho was gobsmacked; Seungmin had argued about being picked up since age three.

“I’ll take them now, have a good evening, Minho, Changbin.” He said, ushering Felix and Jeongin with his hand, gesturing towards the doorway.

“Bye Daddy…” Jeongin said quietly as he left the door, Changbin simply pulling his arms from across his chest and throwing him a quick salute gesture goodbye. Minho closed the door, groaning as he did. He turned around, slumping his back against it and brushed through his bangs with his fingers. Changbin had already started walking towards the living room, huffing and puffing as he did so.

" _That’s_ why I didn’t want to tell them, Changbin.” Minho said, following him through.

Changbin took a look around the room, spotting the sopping mess of cookies that were laid out on the table, and the newly acquired bookcase photos of the boys, plus Felix, on the coin-operated ride at the diner. Jisung’s guitar had been propped up beside the single seater armchair, and on the coffee table laid a drawing that Felix had drawn of all of them, including the three cats. He slumped down on the couch, spreading his legs out wide over two seats.

"So, when were you going to tell me that you're still hanging out with that Jisung guy, then?" he said, winding his head to look back at him.

"Changbin. That's none of your business and he's my neigh—"

"It's none of my business? We're dating, Minho. I think it _is_ my business.”

"How is it your business who I'm friends with?"

" _'Friends with'_? Please, Minho." He said, rising to his feet again with his hands above his head. “You really think I’m dumb?”

"What's that supposed to mean?" Minho retorted defensively.

"Oh yeah. The guy that you gussied up for that time you fobbed the boys off to me, and the guy who brought _my_ shirt back after _you_ leant it to him after God-knows what, and the guy that just _so happens_ to be at your house literally every time I see him. I've seen him you know. He's always looking at you, showing off to you." Changbin shook his head from side to side, leaning forward to pick up Felix’s illustration.

"You're on this, again, are you? _You're_ the one who shows off in front of _him_. I should've known your fake-ass nicecy-nice act wouldn't last forever." Minho spat back, rolling his eyes.

“Is there something going on between you two?” He said, shoving drawing up in front of Minho’s face. “This, this is the plan, huh?” He mocked. 

“You’re being ridiculous Changbin. _It’s a fucking drawing.”_ He snatched it back immediately.

"No, I'm _trying_ to be better for you and show you that I care about you. I've done everything I can, Minho." He said. "First, I'm too sarcastic, then I'm too jealous, now I'm too nice? What do you want from me? I can't do anything else. I thought... I thought, this was going well between us, this time."

Minho looked down at his fingers curling into the paper in frustration. Changbin was right, but it didn't make it any easier.

"It was, I mean... It is. I don't know... I'm sorry. I just… I don’t know."

Minho did the only thing he thought he could do in times like this. He lunged forward and reached for Changbin's face in between his hands. He pulled him forwards into a hasty kiss, dragging him in by his arms wrapped over the shorter man’s shoulders. He didn't know why, he just thought this would be the quickest way to shut him up for a moment.

 **10:28pm** **🐿️---**

Me, Minhoooo🐈

 _22:28pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Hey

Thank you so much for having the boys.

I'm really sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable or anything.

I didn't know Seungmin would react like that… x

 _22:30pm_ You:

It's fine Minho, no worries at all.

He calmed down at mine and we did some practising for his talent show 😊

He's gotten really good, I'm really proud of him. x

 _22:32pm_ Minhoooo🐈

You're so good with him Jisung.

I've never seen him come out of his shell so much with anyone before.

It really means so much to me that he has someone he can turn to other than me. x

 _22:35pm_ You:

He's a sweet kid.

I could say the same about Felix.

He's been so much less scatty recently!

You seem to have a bit of a calming effect on him

Which is great

Because it means I can actually get some sleep lol

x

 _22:38pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Felix is an angel, anyone could fall for his little charms! x

 _22:40pm_ You:

Our families seem to get along so well, right?

Kind of like we were meant to meet x

 _22:42pm_ Minhoooo🐈

😝

You're so cringy!

but

I do agree… I guess. x

 _22:43pm_ You:

Ha HA, very funny.

I mean it, I'm so glad I met you

and your family x

 _22:45pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Woah 🙀

Why so sentimental all of a sudden? x

 _22:46pm_ You:

I don't know, just feel like it, I guess!

Family Diner Night next week?

Felix said they have a new animatronic Mighty Mouse he wants to see…🤦 x

 _22:49pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Sure, why not.

I might have plans with Bin, but honestly, I'll just cancel. x

 _22:50pm_ You:

You sure?

 _22:51pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Yep

 _22:52pm_ You:

😕

I don't know Minho.

I don't want to get in the middle of this, or anything… x

 _22:53pm_ Minhoooo🐈

You already did, to be honest.

but it's okay, he's just

 _22:59pm_ You:

...?

_23:04pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Okay I’ll be honest…

He thinks that there's something 'going on' between you and me.

Just because you're at my house a lot, I guess. x

 _23:06pm_ You:

Ah.

I see x

 _23:08pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Sorry, I didn't mean to be super blunt about it.

So... yeah. x

 _23:10pm_ You:

Well, I'm sorry if I'm ruining things, or anything.

I don't want to interfere or cause problems between you two x

 _23:13pm_ Minhoooo🐈

There's always been problems.

you're not one of them, trust me.

He just needs an excuse, I guess. x

 _23:15pm_ You:

Kind of like /you/ need an excuse to end things with someone you clearly don't really feel much towards anymore? x

 _23:17pm_ Minhoooo🐈

...

 _23:18pm_ You:

Sorry, I didn't mean to be super blunt about it x

 _23:19pm_ Minhoooo🐈

I know.

You're right.

I really need to end things, don't I? x

 _23:22pm_ You:

Well idk.

How did he act afterwards? Did you go on the date? x

 _23:24pm_ Minhoooo🐈

We just spoke about Seung and stuff.

We didn't really go on a date after all, we just decided to stay in… x

 _23:26pm_ You:

Tell me you're kidding.

 _23:28pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Nothing happened!

We just talked a lot, I guess.

 _23:29pm_ You:

Nothing happened...?

You're both at each other’s throats and then you just decide to cancel your plans and 'talk'?

Pfffffffft x

 _23:32pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Woah?

It's not a big deal, we just didn't feel like going out after fighting.

Everything ok? x

 _23:35pm_ You:

Yeah, you just know that I really hate to see you and the boys unhappy.

Plus, Felix got in another fight today.

I have to go in and see his teacher on Monday.

I'm just a little stressed. Sorry x

 _23:38pm_ Minhoooo🐈

It's okay, it means a lot to me that you care.

Why? What's been happening with him? x

 _23:35pm_ You:

He came home the other day with a massive bruise, and it breaks my heart.

I don't know.

 _23:37pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Oh ☹️ Jisung, I'm so sorry.

Do you want to talk about it? x

 _23:38pm_ You:

Can you come over?

 _23:39pm_ Minhoooo🐈

What? Now?

It’s nearly midnight...

X

 _23:42pm_ You:

Oh yeah, sorry.

Well, just to the front lawn or something? The boys are all asleep x

 _23:43pm_ Minhoooo🐈

Um, okay?

Sure thing.

I’m in pyjamas though… x

 _23:45pm_ You:

I’m sure you’ll look fine…

You always do x

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "We said everything we wanted to say,  
> and wrote it off as not being right for each other.  
> It was actually my fault for letting my eyes  
> be drawn to someone else even whilst still seeing you."  
> Stray Kids - 미친놈 (Ex)
> 
> ARE WE READING THESE LYRICS  
> FIC MINHO CAN RELATE BRUH  
> Also we got baby Felix yesterday I'M SICK
> 
> Sorry I'll stop screaming.
> 
> Stream Back Door! <3


	16. That All The World Will Be In Love With Night

**Friday, 11:58pm** **🐱---**

"It's freezing out here, you're out of your mind!" Minho stage-whispered, with his body still holding on to the heat inside of his house, just his head sticking out of the doorway. He snuck out, placing his tiptoe out of the door comedically, bounding forward and pulling to door closed behind him.

"It's freeing! I love it!" Jisung said, gesturing him to come across. He was leaning casually against the fence in his dressing gown. It was dark, so it was difficult to see what expression he was even making, but Minho was sure it'd be ridiculous, anyway.

"I love _not dying of pneumonia_ , personally." Minho retorted, wrapping his arms around his biceps as he meandered down his front lawn and out of his gate.

"You're so dramatic, Minho."

"Says you... Inviting me out here at this time…"

Jisung scoffed quietly, leaning upwards from the fence to wander slowly back in the direction of his house, his robe swinging gently as he made his way across to his hanging chair. Minho wandered over too, holding his arms even tighter around his torso to protect himself from the sting of the cold breeze that whipped past him. He managed the icy descent across to his veranda and perched down on the swinging bench next to Jisung; the chill of the white gloss paint beneath making him gasp a little as it touched the back of his silk pyjama-clad thighs.

"Do you want this?" Jisung said, unravelling his robe fastening and pulling open the fluffy blue dressing gown that draped over the top of his pyjamas.

"No, it's fine. You only have a short-sleeve on underneath, don't worry. Anyway, it's... It's... _Freeing_."

Jisung peeled it off from over his shoulders regardless and wrapped it around them both, Minho immediately clutching on to one side pulling it over his own shoulder and Jisung clutching at the other side. They huddled in closely, sharing each other’s body heat as best they could whilst a million thoughts travelled through Minho's brain. They sat there in relative silence, just for a moment's peace. Minho wasn't even really sure why they were here…

"Are you okay?" Jisung enquired, angling his head towards Minho inquisitively for a few seconds before staring off into the distance. "It's been a weird day, so... I just wanted to make sure you were okay." His voice was much softer and quieter than normal, it almost made him sound dozy, like they could both fall asleep here and now.

Minho looked back across to the younger man then he gazed up into the sky, staring at the almost-full moon and the spattering of stars that were suddenly _much more visible_ than Minho had ever noticed before. He felt his chest tighten, and he wasn't sure it if was the cool air forcing his body to tense up, or the feeling of total unease at how he could possibly begin to answer that question. He exhaled slowly, the mist of his own breath blowing back towards him.

"I mean... I'm in a loveless relationship and my kids are on the verge of breakdown, but what's new, I guess?" Minho said dejectedly, shaking his head and looking back up to the sky in defeat. There was no need to be secretive with Jisung, he was one of the few people that Minho could feel comfortably vulnerable around without feeling pathetic.

"Oh, come here." Jisung responded, stifling a little laugh, and leaning backwards in the seat. He pulled Minho closer to settle against him. He encased them both in more of the robe as he wrapped his arm-span around him, and Minho found himself placing his hand gently in the centre of Jisung's chest. He relaxed his body so that he could rest his head just above Jisung's pectoral, draping his other arm around him across his stomach. It felt strange for a moment, until Minho just simply allowed himself to relax and appreciate the moment for what it was - a break from reality.

"I'm worried about Seung. He's been so closed off to Changbin recently and I don't know why." Minho said, muttering in to Jisung's side, huddling into his warmth.

"You need to talk to him, figure out what's happened."

"I know. He's always the one most affected when something happens between me and his Dad. Jeongin usually doesn't really care... But Seung... I don't know." He said, despondently. 

"Well, whatever it is, I hope you resolve it soon. He's such a smart kid." Jisung said softly, Minho could feel him nodding with the subtle bounce of his chest.

"I know, I just want him to be happy." Minho sighed. "Anyway, you've probably heard enough about it, by now. You said you were worried about Felix, too. What's going on with him?"

"A few of the boys from school have been picking on him. This one kid in particular, he’s going to be there on Monday with his Mom or Dad."

"Kids pick on each other at age _eight_!?" Minho said, raising his head away from Jisung's torso in surprise, his face contorting at the idea that anyone would ever want to hurt someone as pure as Felix, regardless of age.

"Kids are brutal nowadays..." Jisung said, pulling him gently back to rest against his chest again, locking his arms around him tenderly. Minho noticed that Jisung had casually started brushing his fingers through his hair. He tried not to think too far in to it, instead focusing on how soothing it felt. 

"What started it all?" Minho enquired.

"Felix won't tell me. He keeps saying that it's just playfighting, but I can tell that it upsets him. He always tries to put on a brave face. Whatever it is, he doesn't want to tell me, either he's scared or embarrassed of whatever it is they’re picking on him about."

“Hopefully, the school can sort it out.”

“I hope so.” Jisung sighed. “I can’t stand seeing him upset.”

“Hey, don’t worry, okay?” Minho fussed, looking up to him and removing his arm from around Jisung’s side to softly cup his cheek in his hand for a few seconds. He swiped his thumb across his soft skin, it was warm against his cold fingertips, making Jisung jolt upwards a little. His fingers lingered there for entirely too long before he realised what he was even doing.

They stared at each other for far too long too, not a semblance of awkwardness between them considering how close they were physically. It took everything in his being to not pull the younger man’s mouth to his own, to feel his warm lips against Minho's cooler ones, but he knew Jisung was too precious to him. He couldn’t risk ruining their friendship by acting too brash, no matter how much it physically hurt to restrain himself. 

So, they sat there. For what felt like hours, totally absorbed by each other. Minho’s slight vanilla scent mingling and mixing with the smell of cheap coconut shampoo. During the entire time they spent immersed in each other’s fondness, Changbin didn’t enter Minho’s mind once. It was like all of the negativity in his life had just vanished for a short while. 

“I should get going, otherwise I might fall asleep here.” Minho said, pulling himself up from Jisung’s torso and stretching his arms above his head with the dressing gown still firmly in his grasp, effectively pulling it off of Jisung in one swipe.

“Would that be so bad?”

“Not at all… Still, I have to take the boys to baseball tomorrow, I’ll have to get them early.” He said, wrapping the dressing gown around himself comically with a smug little look on his face.

“Yeah, you said. I’ll try to wake up.” Jisung joked, making Minho smack his arm teasingly.

They both stood up, peeling themselves off of the bench, Minho’s entire lower body totally numb and a flash of pins and needles travelling through the hand he had draped across Jisung’s chest moments earlier. He observed as Jisung took a few steps towards his front door, letting out a huge yawn and lifting his arms above his head to stretch out his arms and abdomen as he did.

He looked around, watching Minho wander back down his front lawn, still wrapped in the younger man's dressing gown, pulling it tightly around his neck, appreciating how soft it was. He must’ve gotten nearly to his own side of the street before Jisung called back over to him.

"He's right, you know..." He shouted to him, a little subtle melancholy rippling through his voice.

"Who?” Minho queried, briefly flicking his head back over his shoulder to look at him for a second, but still near enough powerwalking across the street to get back to the much-anticipated warmth of his own home.

"Changbin."

Minho suddenly stopped in his tracks in the middle of the road, twisting back to look at him, blinking in bewilderment.

"W-What about?"

"If I were him, I'd probably be worried about us hanging out so much, too. I think... I think it's understandable." Jisung chuckled, rubbing the back of his hair to straighten it again from where it had been pushed against the lime green cushions on the swinging chair. He clutched at his front door handle, pulling it down carefully.

"I mean... He's just a naturally jealous person, it's—"

"He's scared because he knows we'd be better for each other, right?" Jisung said calmly. His lip curled into a shy, boxy smile as he bobbed lower and slipped his body through the door, leaving just his head out for a moment. "Goodnight, Minho." He called out after him, before closing the door across him. 

Minho stood there, expressionless, in the middle of the road at nearly 1:00am on a Saturday morning. The breeze swept past him again, but for some reason, it didn’t feel as bitter as it did mere minutes ago. The street was entirely still, not a car wheel in motion, not even the sound of a bird or neighbourhood cat to be heard.

All Minho could hear was his own heart thumping in his ears.

 **Monday 6:36pm** **🐿️---**

It was gone 6:30pm, so afterschool club had just dwindled down.

"Ah! Mr. Han? Isn't it?" A sweet-tempered voice called out to him.

"Uh, yes. Yes, it is."

The tall teacher with black hair in a neat bun from the time before greeted him immediately with a bow, walking him across to the open bay door to the classroom.

"Come on in, thank you so much for coming." She said, politely.

She led him through to a door, the bronze nameplate had ‘ _Ms. Choi’s Office’_ engraved on it.

The walls were covered in crayon drawings of her and other students and colorful floral bunting that was hanging around the entire office from each corner of the room.

Compared to that, the furniture was your standard, dreary, gun-metal and royal-blue school chairs, cheap wooden desk, and metallic blinds that didn't shut all the way, probably due to too many kids yanking at the toggles incorrectly.

He walked further into the room, where Felix was sitting slumped down in one of the four chairs laid out in a semi-circle in front of her desk.

He was in his lilac hoodie that swamped him; Felix tended to like to wear baggy clothes, he said it felt like ‘ _being inside a warm hug’_.

Jisung saw him ducking his head down and fiddling with his new bead bracelet under the oversized sleeve.

He barely even looked at Jisung when he strode in, shooting him a little guilty expression then looking back down, tucking his hands back into his hoodie and placing them in his lap.

On the other side of the room, was a burly, middle-aged guy in a navy polo shirt with some kind of white, text logo on it.

He was sitting next to another bulkier little boy in a bright yellow, European-style soccer shirt and black shorts.

Looking at him, you wouldn't think he and Felix were in the same year, at all.

Jisung tried not to grimace at the sight of the boy practically _grinning_ at his Dad who was sitting next to him, casually tapping away on his phone until he noticed Jisung walk in.

He had to remind himself that this was just another little boy, just like Felix, so try to keep an open mind and not get too worked up.

The woman swung down happily into her chair, far too happy considering she was about to discuss Felix being picked on by another kid.

"Good evening. I'd like to thank you both for coming today. I know coming into school after work is the opposite of what every parent wants to do." She chuckled, trying and ultimately failing, to lighten the mood a little.

"I've asked you all to come here today because we need to bring a little issue to light, don't we, boys?" She gestured to them, tilting her head for confirmation.

The other child nodded, fairly laidback looking compared to Felix, who seemed to look a lot more anxious than Jisung was used to seeing him.

"We've had a few little incidents with Jaehyun and Felix since Felix moved to this class, and I want the boys to be able to talk about their problems. I thought it was important that you were both here, so you could talk about these kind of things at home, too."

This wasn't Jisung's first time at the rodeo.

He was a teacher himself, he'd been in more inclusions, disciplinaries, student conflict mediation and parent-teacher meetings than he'd like to recall.

It felt bizarre being on the other side.

Jisung listened as she reeled off the number of ‘incidents’ that she'd written down in her burgundy notepad; listing them off monotonously, which almost seemed to down-play how bad they were, in Jisung’s opinion.

Jisung knew about the playground ‘fun-sponge’ incident, and the Wanda incident, but he hadn't been told that the other boy had pushed Felix down the slide abruptly, causing the newly-blossoming, mustard-colored bruise that had appeared on his shoulder.

He also hadn't heard about the other boy and another friend sabotaging Felix's butterfly painting by spilling dirty paint water on it.

Felix had told him that he ruined the painting _himself_ by mistake.

"It was just an accident!" The other boy stated defensively, furrowing his brow at the teacher, and yanking on his Dad's shirt, who just rolled his eyes and shrugged it off. “Tell her, Dad!”

"Well, another student told me that he heard you and Jinhwan talking about how you were going to spill the paint on Felix's art on purpose. Is that true?" The teacher questioned, raising her eyebrows.

Jisung looked across to Felix, who had yet to mutter a single word in the whole mediation.

Why wasn’t Felix replying?

It was totally unlike him not to furiously defend himself, too; he was always so self-assured.

"That’s obviously a tall tale. Jaehyun wouldn't do that kind of thing. He's as well-behaved and kind as they come!" The other parent said in shock, the boy next to him frantically nodding. "Maybe there was just a misunderstanding? _Felix_ , is it?" He asked, gesturing at the freckled boy, who perked his head up at the sound of an elder calling his name, alarm in his eyes.

Jisung tensed; _how dare this guy address his son straight on?_

" _You_ don't think Jaehyun would ruin your art on purpose, do you, Felix?" He said, far too directly for Jisung's liking.

Felix could barely look at the man as he spoke.

He lifted his head up to try and talk, and Jisung saw him swallowing the words.

"No... I think... I think it was just an accident. It’s okay." Felix stuttered quietly, nodding his head. 

"—And the other times, they were _all_ accidents, were they?" Jisung cut in suddenly, causing Felix to look back up at him, his eyes wide and glossy.

"Well, boys roughhouse all the time, I'm sure—" The other man replied.

"Felix doesn't roughhouse, he's not like that." Jisung interrupted. "I find it odd that you'd expect me to believe that all these different instances are just all accidents?"

Jisung's heart was beating so fast in his chest, it felt like he’d been injected with a pint of expresso.

"Well, I can't speak for the boys but—" The teacher tried to interject to defend herself.

"Well, maybe you _should_ speak for them. You're their teacher after all, and you're letting my son get picked on!" He said, sternly, trying not to lose his nerve.

“Mr. Han, please… We just want to get to the bottom—"

"Pfft! Oh, come on, it's just playground teasing—” The other man chuckled, interrupting the teacher again.

"Both schools in this district have a zero tolerance for bullying and assault and I expect you to sort this out, or at the _very least_ , move Felix to a different class!" Jisung shouted, way more authoritarian-esque than he was expecting, considering his own laid-back approach to teaching.

He’d barely so much as handed out a single detention in his six years of being a teacher.

"Assault?!" The man laughed, rising from his chair, "They're just kids for Gods’ sake!"

"Yeah, they are, and I don't want my son to grow up afraid of the other kids in his own class!" Jisung stood up abruptly too, putting his hand out to summon Felix's in to his own.

Felix grabbed it nervously, not once looking at the other man or the other boy, closing the space between him and his Dad immediately, grabbing at his arm. 

"I expect to be kept up-to-date on this. I'd like you to ensure me that you'll work on getting Felix moved across to a different class?"

"O-Oh, o-of course, Mr. Han. We'll try our best to see if we can sort out a transfer." She said apologetically, dipping her head down to bow at him slightly.

"Preferably to Woodpecker, the boys in that class seem like they're better mannered. I’m done here." Jisung said, pulling on Felix's hand to lead them out of the door, making sure he slammed it behind him.

He’d tried to sound as intelligent as he could in the heat of the moment.

Jisung couldn't believe how well he'd handled himself.

Being around Hyunjin entirely too long had obviously improved his acting abilities.

He swung through the hallway, tugging Felix along with him, barely able to get a single steady breath out.

He didn't know, however, that the other parent wasn't _particularly pleased_ at his comment, as he stomped out after them.

He felt the adrenaline pumping throughout his veins as he headed down the front steps towards the parking lot.

"Hey!" The man called out after him. "Han, is it?" He said, striding across to him.

They both turned around, looking back to him.

"Felix, get in the car, okay? I'm going to speak to Jaehyun's Daddy, and we will try and fix this, okay?" Jisung said sweetly, kneeling down to him and pressing the key fob until he heard the little _bleep_ of his car opening.

Felix looked to the other man with a worried expression painted across his face, then to Jisung again before heading off to find the car. 

"What the hell was that in there? You're saying my boy is badly behaved? You don't even know him." The other Dad shouted in his direction.

"Take it easy; I'm just saying what it seems like." Jisung said, feigning that he was relaxed, when in reality he felt like he was about to combust.

He found himself putting his hands up in front of himself defensively.

"He's just a kid for fucks sake. Kids do stupid stuff all the time, what’s your problem?" The man spat back at him.

The previous comments about how _‘kind’_ his son was, was obviously a front.

Nothing about this family seemed _‘kind’_ , to Jisung.

"Yeah, kids do stupid stuff, like eat crate paper, or cut their hair with craft scissors, or give each other stupid nicknames. What kids don't do by force of habit is hurt and upset other kids." Jisung said, holding his own ground.

"Kids watch wrestling and playfights and they see that kind of stuff. They can't help it. I have four boys; they just don't know their own strength sometimes." He said.

"Well, they say the apple doesn't fall too far from the tree." Jisung retorted, internally terrified about what the other man would say back; but he couldn’t stop the words spewing out.

He watched as the man ran his calloused fingers over his chin through his stubble, sneering, then he looked back to stare Jisung dead in the eyes.

"Yeah? Well, obviously not in your case. Your kid is too busy prancing around in the flowers and painting princesses and butterflies."

"What... W-What did you just say...?"

Jisung was totally stunned.

The man pressed his middle and index finger in to Jisung's chest, shunting him backwards so he almost lost his footing.

"Weird, you look like a guy that could hold your own. Yet, your son's a total fairy. Look at that stupid mess he’s wearing, and you _let that happen?_ ” He chuckled. “Obviously _that_ apple hit a few branches on its' way down, huh?"

Jisung's fist coiled up tightly next to him, his hands violently shaking in frustration.

He peered back to the car, just for a brief moment, just to check that Felix wasn't watching.

Jisung had never hit anyone before, in his 28 years of living.

Until today.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof
> 
> THE EX MUSIC VIDEO, I REPEAT THE EX MUSIC VIDEO????  
> 10/10
> 
>   
> twitter:  
> https://twitter.com/YfwbbS <3


	17. One Foot In Sea, And One On Shore

**Monday 7:50pm** **🐿️---**

Me, Minhoooo🐈

 _19:50pm_ You:

Hey

Can you do me a favour? x

 _19:52pm_ Minhoooo🐈

… Go on? x

Hi, btw?

How did your meeting go? x

 _19:54pm_ You:

Yeah, about that

Can you come and pick me up? x

 _19:56pm_ Minhoooo🐈

From the school? Where's your car? x

 _19:57pm_ You:

Oh, I kind of, left it there. x

 _19:59pm_ Minhoooo🐈

What?

So, where are you now?

 _20:02pm_ You:

I'm kinda

Well, I’m at the police station

 _20:06pm_ Minhoooo🐈

What?!

Why?!

Oh god, is Felix okay?

 _20:07pm_ You:

Felix is totally fine...

I, on the other hand...

Yeah...

 _20:09pm_ Minhoooo🐈

What happened?

 _20:07pm_ You:

Don't get mad

 _20:11pm_ Minhoooo🐈

That kind of comment makes me think I’m about to get mad?!

??????

 _20:14pm_ You:

I may have

Guuuuuuuuuh

So I may have

I may have hit the Dad of the kid that's been bullying Felix…

Suddenly, the words * **Minhooo** **🐈 is calling* **flashed up across the screen, making Jisung nearly jump out of his skin.

He swiped across it, trying to mentally prepare for what Minho might say.

“Hello…?” He said anxiously, taking a deep breath and holding the phone to his ear.

“What the hell Jisung?! What on Earth were you thinking?!” Minho screamed down the phone, his voice so loud that Jisung had to hold the phone away a little or he might’ve obliterated his eardrum.

“Well, at the time... I kind of _wasn't_ thinking...”

“You can’t go around doing stupid stuff like that Jisung, what if the high school heard?! You’d get in a lot of trouble with the school district and you could lose your job! Jeez, what the hell came over you?!”

“I know, I know, it was really dumb, I just… He said something, that pissed me off… Plus, he shoved me first, it was just self-defence!” Jisung said repentantly.

Luckily, the school had CCTV, and it was clear to them that the other man did _technically_ put his hands on Jisung first.

From the angle of the camera it wasn’t super clear to make out how hard he was pushed, but it was enough for the other parent to back down afterwards in case he got into some trouble, too.

“Well, are you okay?!” Minho asked, his voice a little shaken.

“Well, I have a black eye and a split lip, and my pride is severely damaged, but other than that, I'm fine. The guys not gonna press charges or anything, the arrest was just a precautionary measure by the school... I’m free to go, I’m just sitting in the holding room with Felix.”

“I can’t believe this.... Sit tight, I’ll be there soon, okay? Probably around thirty minutes. I have to feed the cats then I’ll have to bring the boys along, too.”

“Oh great, now the boys can see what a great role-model I am after teaching Felix that ‘ _violence is never the answer’_ …” He said, glancing across to Felix, who was coloring in a little activity sheet on a kids Lego table in the corner of the room.

“Well, if only you’d thought about that _before_ you punched someone!” With that, Minho hung up the phone.

He pocketed it, looking back over to Felix.

“Lix, can you come over here for a sec?” He said, his voice gentle and soft as Felix had been feeling a little delicate considering the unusual surroundings and how long they’d been waiting there.

The freckled boy looked back up to him, puzzled, and then back to his picture, placing the blue crayon down on the table.

He untucked his legs from within his oversized purple hoodie and raised himself up from his knees, heading over to Jisung to stand next to the grey, poorly adorned, fabric waiting chair he was sitting at.

“Yes? I’m here.” He replied sweetly, gently stroking at the bruise under Jisung's eye with a sad, little pout on his face. 

“Minho is coming to get us with Jeongin and Seungmin, okay?”

“Okay, Daddy.”

He stared at the tiny boy in front of him for a few seconds, before clutching his wrists to pull him in to a hug, Felix wrapping his arms around his neck as they were the same height when Jisung was seated.

He pulled him closely, wrapping his arms around his tiny frame, tightly, like he never wanted to let go of him again.

“Lixie, why didn’t you tell me that the boys were saying mean things to you? I thought we always told each other everything?”

“They’re not saying mean things Daddy, we’re just playing… Jaehyun and Jinhwan are my friends…”

“Lix… Friends don’t hurt each other, do they?”

“They didn’t hurt me; it was just a mistake.” Felix said, dipping his head further down in to Jisung’s shoulder.

“Felix, sometimes we need to understand that not everyone is a good person like you are. Sometimes people can be mean, and those people you need to stay away from, okay? You can’t be friends with everyone.”

“I’m tired, I don’t want to talk anymore.” Felix responded, pulling away from the hug and rubbing at his eyes with his teeny, balled up fists, barely showing by the sheer length of his sleeves.

“Okay, well, we’ll talk about it tomorrow, instead, Kiddo.” He said, smiling faintly. “And you, Felix, tired? Well there’s a first time for everything.” He hummed, making Felix giggle.

 **9:09pm** **🐱** **\---**

The car journey home was fairly non-eventful considering the circumstances. Minho had decided not to discuss the elephant in the room whilst the boys were in the back of the car. Once the boys saw Jisung’s newly formed ‘boo-boos’ they were particularly intrigued, but Minho had warned them to stop asking questions, as Jisung was _far_ from being in the right frame of mind to think of a tangible excuse for him getting in to a physical fight…

Minho glanced out of his rear-view mirror to see Felix fast asleep, snuggled up against Seungmin’s shoulder, who was also taking a little snooze after being dragged out of the house so late, too. Both of Minho’s boys were usually asleep by 8:30pm and it was nearly 9:15pm… So much for set schedules.

He played some soft acoustic music that Jeongin could hum along to without waking the other boys, whilst catching quick glances at Jisung who was sitting in the passenger seat, looking out of the widow with his head rested against his arm leaning on the sill. He hissed a little every time the car jolted, or they went over a speedbump. From his side profile Minho could see his lip was pretty inflamed on the right side, and under his eye was a swollen, charcoal-colored stripe, surrounded by blooms of mauve and yellow.

As Minho pulled in to the neighbourhood, he saw Ms. Park perk her head up and wave at them, smoking her cigarette casually out the front, wrapped in a pink bathrobe with fluffy trim, whilst letting her little whatever-it-was, alien-breed dog outside. He pulled in to Jisung’s driveway slowly, the street inexplicably quiet.

“Come on boys, we’re home.” He said softly, turning his body around to look at the three boys in their car seats, all fast asleep in the back.

“I’ve never seen Felix fall asleep before 9:30pm.” Jisung whispered to him.

“Well, that’s what happens when you spend a night in the slammers, I guess. I hear criminals get tired a lot earlier than us regular civilians.” Minho taunted, punching at Jisung’s arm a little, to which he let out a spectacularly overexaggerated ‘ _ouch!_ ’ and grasped at his arm like a total drama queen.

He unlocked the door and unstrapped Jeongin first, lifting him into his arms and wrapping him around his waist. Felix stirred a little from the middle seat, blinking through his heavy lids and unbuckling his own belt, as did Seungmin. They all ambled out of the car, Felix slipping out and gripping on to Minho’s hand with his hoodie-sleeved fingers.

“Okay boys, say goodnight to Jisung and Felix.” He said, placing Jeongin down on the pavement and smoothing out the back of his hair with both hands.

“See you at school tomorrow, Lixie.” Jeongin said, toddling over to him drearily, pulling the other boy in to a modest hug.

“Seung, take the keys and go inside, I’ll be just a sec.” Minho asked, handing him the keys, to which Seungmin obliged, feeling _so grown up_ being handed the house keys.

“You too, Felix.” Jisung said, slipping his hands in to his jean pockets to wiggle out his wodge of keys. The blonde boy just nodded sleepily, drifting over to him to retrieve them. He waved Minho goodbye and wandered up the path towards the door, less bounce in his step than usual. _The poor boy must’ve been exhausted_ , Minho thought.

“I’m so sorry about all of this, Minho. Thanks so much for getting me and Felix, I owe you one. Chan was still working and Hyunjin is probably out at some bar trying to score some guy, by now, I’d imagine.”

“Oh, so I was the last resort, huh!?” Minho said, raising an eyebrow.

“No, not at all! I just knew I could trust you to answer!” Jisung joked back defensively, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah, yeah!” He quipped. “How are you getting to school tomorrow to get your car?”

“Oh, I’ll take the bus in to work and then I’ll walk across to pick it up tomorrow evening, it’s no biggie.” Jisung responded.

“How are you going to explain to your high-schoolers what happened to your pretty little face, huh?” Minho teased, grinning at him, and gently pressing on the bruise forming on his collarbone.

“Ouch!” he whined, swatting Minho’s hand away. “I’m sure whatever I make up they won’t believe me anyway, kids are smart. Hey, maybe I’ll be a _cool teacher_ , now…”

Minho considered that if he had a teacher was as attractive as Jisung when he was in high school learning English, he could be Shakespeare himself, by now...

He placed his fingertips against Jisung’s chin, lifting it up a little with his index finger to look at the newly-acquired lump across Jisung’s jaw bone. It was a slightly different color to the bruise under his eye and the one on his neck.

“This looks bad, do you need anything for it?” He said, gazing intently at the other man’s face.

“No, that one is actually okay. The one under my eye is killing me though, the dude had a ring on…”

“Ouch…” Minho hissed. “Well, serves you right for getting into a fight in the first place. Maybe that’ll take you down a peg or two.” Minho chuckled, using his hand to grip his cheeks in between his thumb and index finger firmly and shake his face from side to side with gritted teeth.

“Ha, ha. Still, thank you for getting us.” Jisung said, grabbing at Minho’s hand to remove it from his cheek. He held it down to his side, at first to keep it away from his face, Minho guessed. He kept their hands there for a while longer though, just enough for Minho to notice the length of time. He suddenly gripped tighter, securing their fingers together. Minho looked down to their hands, then back to Jisung, sighing internally.

“You scared me you know? You really need to be careful, especially when Felix is around.” Minho said, his tone slightly more serious than before. “I’d hate it if anything happened to you.”

“What, _this,_ isn’t ‘ _something happening to me’_?” Jisung joked, pointing to his under-eye bruise. Minho chuckled at him softly, throwing his head back in exasperation before looking back to him. Jisung’s eyes even though swelling, were still so mesmerizing. He had such _genuine_ eyes, and Minho couldn’t help but be drawn to them.

“Daddy! I can’t get the door open!” Felix shouted from across the path. Minho looked over to him; he was stomping his little Vans in frustration as he pulled at the key in the door, rattling all the other keys on the fob.

“I’ll be there in a sec, Felix.” He shouted, before turning back to Minho.

“Honestly, thank you again, for caring about us, Minho.” He said, smiling, gripping Minho’s hand a little tighter.

Minho suddenly realised that he was probably blushing from the interaction. _Here he goes again,_ Minho thought. Here’s Jisung’s way-over-the-top skinship and delicate facial expressions sending him in to an infatuated spiral…

“Do you want to have dinner, tomorrow night?” Jisung said, smiling at the older man through his bruised, inflamed cheeks.

“Is it Malatang night already? I thought Malatang night was Thursday?” Minho joked, holding his other hand to his chest.

“Hey, I can cook things other than soup…!” Jisung said, seemingly offended at his choice of words. He pulled him in closer so that they were practically chest to chest, Jisung puffing his torso out as if he were the bigger man.

Minho cocked an eyebrow, he let go of Jisung’s hand, instead closing his arms around his own chest to give Jisung a sarcastic look that hopefully projected the words _‘Oh really? Says who?_ ’. There was no way Jisung could cook anything other than malatang, he could barely even manage that.

“Fine, well… Earlier-than-normal Family Diner Night, or maybe we can order takeout round mine? My treat for having to subject you to my face looking like a balloon...”

“Sounds great. Actually, it’s kind of cute, your cheeks are even chubbier looking than normal.” He cooed. “I don’t have any plans tomorrow, so I’ll be there.”

Minho meandered back to his side of the road, watching Jisung retire back to his home, throwing him a parting wave as he and Felix entered the door. Then he looked towards Ms. Park, who was giving him a cynical, raised-eyebrow look as she draped over her fence, softly laughing at him.

“Oh honey, you’re playing a dangerous game here...” She said warily, taking a drag of her cigarette afterwards. “Take it from me, playing two guys at the same time, seems glamorous and exciting at the start, but trust me, it goes downhill _real_ fast.” 

**10:13pm** **🐱** **\---**

 _22:13 : _ ** Me **

Hey! Hope work was okay?

Can we take a rain check on tomorrow night?

I just realised that I have this dumb employment standards audit check that I need to do and I’m probably going to be at work late finishing it up 😞.

Plus, the babysitter is still being a bit flaky so I’m not sure if she’s going to be able to sit again, either.

Sorry to cancel last minute xx

 _22:16 :_ ** Changbin** ** 💗ICE **

Oh noooo 😢

It’s okay. I know how it is, works been hell recently on my end too…

We can re-arrange for next week?

I kind of bought you something, just something small just 'cause...

Idk just felt like it xx

 _22:18 : _ ** Me **

Awh, you didn’t have to do that 😢.

Of course, maybe next week sometime, just let me know? xx

 _22:22 :_ ** Changbin** ** 💗ICE **

Sure thing, next Thursday?

Can’t wait to see you.

Haven’t stopped thinking about you since Friday xx

 _22:25 : _ ** Me **

Sounds great 😊

Can’t wait to see you too xx

He gritted his teeth as he pressed ‘send’ on the last message to Changbin for the night, slumping back into his couch cushions, glass of red wine in hand after a long day...

Minho was a liar. A big, fat, liar. A colossal, monumental, ginormous, liar.

A pang of guilt swept over him as he typed out his lie to Changbin. He was lying to the father of his kids, for the sake of eating cheap fast food with the man he was secretly, totally, and entirely, enamoured with.

He’d also unashamedly lied to Jisung too, about his last interaction with Changbin. He’d told Jisung that they just stayed in and talked after their fight, and he was _sure_ that he was going to end things with the older man, when honestly, the exact opposite had happened…

He’d _mentally prepared_ for trying to end things with Changbin after their argument on Friday, sure. Physically, however, it wasn't the case at all. Minho had ended up kissing him, much like he always did. The only way Minho got Changbin to drop how enraged he was at the sight of Jisung at his house and Felix’s family drawing of them, was to tell him that he had no feelings for Jisung whatsoever and he never would; that they were only friends and that was all they were going to be!

Oh, and he _may_ have told Changbin that he wanted to be ‘official and exclusive’ to prove to the older man how much he cared about him... _Definitely not the best thing to say in the heat of the moment_ , Minho thought.

At the time, he did consider Jisung before he asked Changbin to be official with him again, but he’d quickly dismissed any lingering sentiments because he didn’t want to keep chasing after someone who didn’t reciprocate his feelings. Not three hours later, Jisung had told him that he and Minho would be ‘better for each other’… Obviously, fate wasn’t acting with his best interest at heart.

Minho sighed, placing his phone down on the coffee table and running his hand through his hair in total despondency. The worst part was, he'd told Jisung that he was going to call the whole thing off and that he wasn't interested in Changbin anymore _mere moments_ after he'd asked Changbin to be his boyfriend again. He couldn't believe that he'd lied to them both, what kind of person was he becoming? 

He knew that he needed to stay loyal to Changbin, seeing as they were official now, but on the other hand, Changbin would surely never find out that he was lying about having to stay late at work, anyway. So, what was the harm in simply having dinner round Jisung’s...?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm, what would be the harm?????? :)
> 
> not @ me making my main characters unlikeable, what's new lol  
> Also, sorry, I know a lot of this chapter was just more relationship building filler, but trust me, you're gonna need these kind of soft-ish chapters for what's comin' next :)
> 
> sidenote: You guys were super vocal on that last chapter, I'm SO appreciative of all your amazing comments! Last chapter I'd never seen THE CAPS LOCK SMASHED so much! YOU GUYS ARE SHOOTERS FOR LITTLE!LIX FOR REAL
> 
> I opened a twitter :)  
> https://twitter.com/YfwbbS


	18. Call It Not patience, Gaunt; It Is Despair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw angst

**Tuesday, 6:39pm** **🐱 ---**

“Okay, look. For Minho, stir fried tofu with rice and a blueberry juice, Seungmin; szechwan chilli chicken with watermelon-pineapple juice, Jeongin; prawn-filled dim sum, choco-banana 50% sugar, Felix wants sweet and sour chicken balls with kiwi juice at 100% sugar level and chicken and egg fu young for me, is that right?” He said, gasping heavily after the hefty order.

“Prawn crackers!” Felix shouted, hopping up and down on his knees next to him, bouncing him up and down in the rhythm of his excited little claps.

“And of course, prawn crackers.” Jisung confirmed, before tapping the order into his phone. “No changes now, it’s done!” He breathlessly slumped back into the back cushions of the couch, pulling Seungmin and Felix down with him.

“Thank you, Mr. Jisung!” Seungmin said politely next to him, clutching on to his arm, Jeongin following with a teenier “ _Thank you!_ ” in tandem from the other couch that he and Minho were sitting on. 

Family evenings with the boys and Jisung had become such a staple of their routine. They’d forgone their regular Diner evening as there was only so much Minho could manage; his desire for western food was next to none.

The food arrived quickly, the smell of sweet and sour wafting through the cosy room and filling everyone’s nostrils. Seungmin offered to help Jisung plate up, which was utterly adorable, in Minho’s eyes. He watched as he used the big tablespoon to expertly shovel egg-fried rice across each of the plates, each choosing a tiny part of each other’s food to share together.

“Seung, what song are you going to sing in the talent show?” Minho asked, shovelling tofu into his mouth.

“I’m going to sing _Congratulations!_ ” He beamed. “For the semi-finals, at least. Then I might do a different song if I make it to the final!”

“Nice, great song choice, bud. You’ll definitely make it to the finals!” Jisung nodded in approval, ruffling his hair in his hand. Minho noticed that when Jisung ruffled his hair, Seungmin barely batted an eyelid, but when _he_ did it on the other hand… 

_Actually eating_ was the only time the entire ensemble weren’t excitedly talking about something totally frivolous. Conversations between them all were so _comfortable_ , almost like they’d become one, big family. Minho didn’t even find himself wincing at Felix leaning backwards to balance a greasy prawn cracker on his nose before jolting it upwards to catch it in his mouth… He’d actually gotten used to it; it was endearing to him now.

“Right, boys, why don’t you guys go and play with Felix’s new plushies, huh? Let your food settle down.” Jisung said after finishing, stroking the spot just behind Felix’s ear like he was some kind of kitten. Felix seemed to welcome it though, and with that, they all bounded off out of the room. Jisung and Minho were left alone again to watch their terrible cop show, as was becoming their tradition for these kinds of nights.

“Wow, why didn’t he just pull over and run, surely the police wouldn’t catch him if he made it through the housing estate?” Jisung said nonchalantly watching the tv, nibbling on a prawn cracker that sounded a little too soft for Minho’s taste.

“Jisung, it’s a cop show. That means the cops always win, that’s kind of the point… No one ever gets away, duh.” Minho chuckled softly, causing Jisung to frown at him and press his head abruptly into his shoulder in a huff.

“Oof! Careful, I have a drink in my hand!” Minho warned, batting his head away and placing his juice down on the coffee table, _sans coaster._

“Well you made me feel dumb!” Jisung whined in return, shaking his head.

“Not hard, is it?!”

“Excuse you?” Jisung suddenly said, a grin forming across his face. He suddenly swung his body over Minho’s thighs, totally encasing his lap. He grabbed at Minho’s wrists, pinning them down beside him as he wiggled around. “Who’s dumb now, huh?” He teased, a little too suggestively for Minho’s liking. For a moment he suddenly forgot how to function.

Every time he was with Jisung, he felt like he was a stupid love-struck teenager again, rather than a thirty-year-old who definitely needed to call the tax office in the morning. His energy was so infectious Minho couldn’t help but play along even though he knew it would only make things worse. They laughed between them for a little while, before the same artificial coconut smell started assaulting his senses and something inside of Minho suddenly _switched_. This wasn’t right, and he knew it.

"Please stop doing this, Jisung." He said, solemnly. He watched as Jisung’s face dropped, his smile faltering at his words.

"What? What are you talking about?" He placed his hands around Minho's wrists, pulling him in a little closer.

"This, this _thing_ you're doing. This thing that we're _always_ doing." He shrugged his hands off of him. "You're all..." He trailed off, still flustered by how close Jisung kept getting to him. His heart had started racing wildly, and he wasn’t sure if it was the adrenaline from his and Jisung’s energy, or the overwhelming feeling of guilt curling up inside of his gut.

He pushed Jisung’s chest back, making the other man climb off of him and tumble back to the empty half of the couch next to him.

"I'm sorry?" Jisung said in bewilderment. Minho stopped for a moment to look at him, trying to gage how genuine his confusion seemed. “It’s just… I’m just messing around.”

"Jisung... You... You _flirt_ with me. You must not realise that you do it, or if it's just in your nature but it's a little much sometimes…" Minho said, despondently. It wasn't that it was a 'little much'. In all honestly, Minho loved it. The problem was, he loved it too much.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel weird or anything. I'm just kind of... like that sometimes. I shouldn't... I'm- I'm really sorry." Jisung said, a red flush encompassing his face.

"So, you _know_ you do it, then?"

"What?"

"You _know_ you flirt with me?" Minho said again, a little firmer this time; Jisung just stared at him blankly, like he always did. "It's okay, it's just... Never mind. Forget I said anything." Minho sighed, straightening out his shirt that Jisung had managed to ruffle up at the bottom. He’d already said too much, he could feel his cheeks getting hotter by the second.

"No, it's not okay. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable. I do care about you." Jisung said, clutching at Minho’s hand. “I really, care about you.”

"Yeah, yeah, you _'care about me'_." Minho said, rolling his eyes, pulling his hands away totally from the other man to vaguely face away from him.

He mulled over the idea in his head; he wanted so desperately to say what he'd been thinking all this time, but there was too high a probability that it would ruin everything they'd built up until this point. Jisung was such a comfortable presence in his life now, and it was a friendship he really cherished after all these years of feeling like he was all alone on this damned street. At the same time, it was eating away at him, and he wanted nothing more than to let go of the innermost thoughts he'd kept cooped up in his brain.

"Let me guess, Jisung. You care about me, just not _like that_?" Minho finally said, a little more aggressively than he’d intended to. "Yet, you'll spend the night around my house curled up watching TV with me, you let me meet your friends, you invite me out to your front porch to star-gaze in the dead of night, you even pick my kids up from school to the point that they're disappointed when you don't. And I just... _I can't stand it_." He sighed. Looking up to the ceiling in dismay. 

"I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"I-I can't stand it Jisung, because... What you said, about Changbin being jealous of us, because we'd ‘ _be better together_ ’...” He threw his hands up messily in exasperation and turned back around, his eyes darting back to him. “Who _says_ those kinds of things to people?! Do you even know what you're doing to me? Is this like, a joke to you?"

"Minho... I didn't know you felt that—" Jisung simply had that same blank, expressionless look across his face.

"How could you _not_ know Jisung?! I've been crazy about you since the day I nearly reversed my car into my hedge just looking at you." He pulled himself up from the chair in total disarray, throwing his hands up slovenly only to flop them back down to his hips as he started pacing across the room.

“Wait, are you serious?” Jisung said, a little surprised. He arose from the couch himself, following Minho with his eyes.

"So, there. You won, you got me say it. Congratulations. I can't wait to awkwardly avoid you through my humiliation for the remaining years we live opposite from each other because you don't feel the same way about me and now I’ve just made the biggest fool out of myself…"

"Minho, I never even said I didn’t feel—"

"Please Jisung, I'm embarrassed enough. Maybe coming here tonight was just a massive mistake—"

“But—”

“Seriously I can’t believe I even just said—”

"—Minho! Will you just let me speak!?" Jisung snapped, his eyes open hysterically wide. At first the look on his face was total exasperation, but Minho could see the façade slipping; a little smile appearing to tug on one side of his cheek.

"Minho... It feels, different with you. I can't really explain it."

Minho looked at him before chewing on his bottom lip. He placed his hands on his hips and sighed, throwing his head backwards to the ceiling again...

"Uuuugh. Oh, _please_ Jisung… You're doing it _again_. You're being deliberately ambiguous on purpose and it messes up my head constantly. Can't you just be honest with me?"

"Okay, fine. You want _un-ambiguous_?" Jisung said, much firmer than before. He took a step forward and tugged on the back of Minho’s shirt to abruptly spin him round, leaving the older man a little flustered as he practically fell into him. He looked to Minho, decisively locking their eyes together. Minho felt him grab both of his shoulders, squeezing his fingertips just above his biceps before continuing,

"Here it is, totally un-ambiguously. I have feelings for you, too, okay?” He said, sighing with relief after saying it, like a weight had been lifted. “Honestly, I didn't think I was even being particularly _subtle_ about it?! You think I enjoyed giving you Hyunjin's number? You think I enjoyed hearing that you were thinking about getting back together with Changbin? No, I didn't. I kind of hated it, actually. All I know is, I just want it to be you and me, together. Us and the boys, like this, all the time."

Minho looked at him and blinked a few times to try and process what the heck was happening.

"...Don't you dare do this to me Jisung, I swear..."

"I'm just being honest. I have feelings for you too, I think I always have. I told you that I was looking for something different—”

"—Please, if this is you being _experimental_ like the college days or whatever I am so over that kind of bullshit you have no idea.” Minho exclaimed, rolling his eyes.

"It's not. I've felt attracted to you since the day I first met you, too, and every day I spend with you makes me fall for you more. You can't honestly think I act this way around all my guy friends? You're insane."

"I'm insane!?"

"Yes, you're insane!"

"I've been skirting around telling you how I felt for so long because I thought I was just imagining the whole thing in my head. I thought you thought I was totally pathetic going back to Changbin all the time. Why the hell would you be into someone so damn boring with so much baggage like me!?" Minho’s voice hitched, as soon as he said Changbin’s name, he felt the pressure behind his eyes building up.

"You are not boring! Not by a long shot, and your boys aren't _baggage_ Minho, they're amazing, just like you are. I didn't think you were pathetic for giving Changbin a second chance. I was just... Honestly, I was just jealous. The idea of you being together pissed me off because I'd been just sitting at the side-lines forever, hoping that you'd realise that you weren't right for each other. Now that you know that there’s nothing between you… We can give this a try, right?” He exhaled deeply, letting his hands slip down from Minho’s shoulders to grasp both of Minho’s hands in between his fingers.

“You’re serious… You really feel that way, about us?” Minho stammered, trying to look towards the floor. Jisung suddenly unlinked one of their hands and instead used his thumb to raise Minho’s chin back up to look at him. 

“Of course. I didn’t want to tell you in case you didn’t feel the same. But now you know you don’t feel anything for Changbin anymore, I know we can make this work if you’d give me the chance to show you.”

Minho felt his breath hitch again; the guilty feeling was so intense now, he felt like he could break at any moment.

“Minho… Let me show you.”

Jisung unexpectedly moved in towards him, clutching at either side of his neck tenderly just underneath his jawbone, and pressing their foreheads together for a short while. He moved in closer, and closer, until he finally plunged their lips together.

His arms moved backwards from Minho's jaw to wrap themselves tenderly around the back of his neck, pulling him as close as humanly possible. The kiss was delicate to begin with, just a gentle peck to test the waters; but regardless of how soft and gentle it was, Minho felt like a thousand volts had just simultaneously travelled through him at once.

The next one, was much hungrier; open-mouthed and a bit more frantic; Minho’s lips slotting against Jisung’s with such a desire he felt like his chest was going to collapse. He tried to be careful, hoping not to irritate the bruise at the side of Jisung’s mouth, but he found himself quickly forgetting about it...

Minho positioned his hands on the small of his Jisung’s back, splaying his fingers out to feel the warmth beneath his fingertips, then he wrapped his arms fully around him to match his tight embrace. He could feel his knuckles desperately clinging on to the material at the back of Jisung’s shirt as he angled Jisung’s lips against his.

He was so consumed with how much he’d wanted to feel Jisung’s soft, (yet slightly bruised) lips against his own that he'd forgotten about Changbin. All of a sudden, Minho felt the remorseful tears he was holding back tumbling down his cheek without warning. He’d tried desperately to hold them back, but it was eating him up inside. Jisung noticed, immediately pulling back, planting his hands firmly on the sides of Minho's face again.

"Hey, wait, w-why are you crying?" Jisung said, his words coated in concern. He felt the pads of Jisung's thumbs brush across his cheeks to remove the tears, smiling softly at him with so much adoration in his eyes that it made Minho feel nauseous.

"I'm just... I don't know… I’m sorry. You shouldn’t kiss me Jisung, I’m awful. I’m the worst human being imaginable." Minho wept, his voice trembling as the words slipped out. He slid his hands in between Jisung’s, pushing his hands away from his face. He threw his arms up to rest them against the back of his skull as he turned around and tried to control his tears.

“What are you talking about? I want nothing more than to kiss you, Minho. You’re not awful, you’re amazing.” He said calmly, clutching at Minho’s arm and trying to guide him back around to face him.

“No, I’m not, I’m awful. I—I lied to y-you. I’m…”

“It’s okay, whatever it is, I don’t care, just don’t stop kissing me, ever.” He turned him again, immediately peppering his lips with more delicate kisses that further scorched Minho’s brittle conscience every time he did it.

“But-- _Changbin_ …” He said, hesitating and angling his face away.

“It’s okay, Minho. You realised that you’re not right together. Just stop dating him and call the whole dumb thing off again, it’s not a big deal. It’s not like you feel anything for him, anyway.” Jisung scoffed.

Minho stood there in silence, staring at the younger man. His genuine eyes seemed to act as a prompt to remind Minho that he would never be good enough for someone as pure and warm-hearted as Jisung, not with the way he was acting.

“He’s my boyfriend, Jisung.”

“What?” Jisung responded, a little confusion in his tone. “What do you me—"

“We got back together on Friday night. I asked him to be official with me, again.”

“What? I thought… You said you needed to end things? He- You said that you didn’t want to be with him?”

“I did _say_ that—”

“—You told me you’d cancel your plans with him to see me? I thought you weren’t right for each other?” Words started falling out of Jisung’s mouth quicker than he could recount them, as the subtle hint of betrayal seemed to become evident in his tone, his eyes slowly transitioning from confused, to hurt. “I don’t… I don’t understand?”

“I’m sorry, I lied. I lied to you and I don’t know why I lied, I’m awf—"

“Why didn’t you just tell me? I’ve seen you for like three nights in a row and you never even mentioned it?”

“I don’t… I don’t know. I couldn’t tell you… I thought you’d think I was—”

“Do the boys know?” Jisung snapped, his eyes furrowing.

“Y-yeah, we discussed it on Saturday night… Seung isn’t ecstatic about the situation, but he told me they’ll both try and be mature about it…”

“Right. I see.” He said firmly, nodding his head. “So… Why are you kissing me, then? And why the hell did you _just_ tell me that you’ve had feelings for me since the day we met?”

“I don’t know, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry, I wish I knew you felt that way before because—”

“Jeez, forget about it. This is so stupid.”

“Please Jisung, I’m—”

“I said forget about it. Let’s just, finish up here, Minho. It’s getting late anyway.” He said, making his way back to the coffee table, picking up the metallic take-out containers strewn across it without even glancing back at Minho once.

“Felix, boys, come and help me clean up, please!” He shouted, totally deadpan, as if nothing had even happened.

"I-I need... I need some air." Minho stuttered, bumbling out of the living room in the direction of the hall. 

Minho near enough _power-walked_ out of the front door to catch his breath, ferociously gasping for air as his tears had beaten the gas out of his lungs. He inhaled and exhaled for a few seconds to try and feign some semblance of stability; he didn’t want the boys to know he’d been crying when he went back in. He looked across to his driveway, taking in the peace and quiet for a moment.

Then he looked up to Ms. Park, leaning out of her window as usual, elbows on the windowsill and a wine glass in hand. She looked at him with what looked like genuine concern in her eyes, and gestured across the road to his house with her finger, shaking her head.

As if the night couldn’t have possibly gotten any worse for him, it dawned on him that Changbin’s red convertible was _parked in his driveway_. His eyes dilated in shock as the panic washed over him. He quickly realised Changbin himself, was leaning against the driver's side door. His muscular arms were wrapped tightly around his chest, his eyes watching him like a hawk as he stumbled out of Jisung's front door. Minho took a few steps forward out in to the road, totally stunned.

“Bin… This…This isn’t—”

“Hey Minho, didn’t you have a ‘ _employment standards audit check’_ to hand in tonight? I hope you got it finished in time.” He ridiculed, cocking his head to the side, a smug expression appearing across his face.

“Bin… What’re you…”

“Didn’t expect to see me here, huh?”

“Oh god, please, I’m sorry.” He frantically scrambled to find the words, but he didn’t even know why he should try and defend himself; he had utterly screwed up.

“Sorry? What for, Minho?”

“I…”

“Oh, I know; because you’re a liar, and a cheat, and a bad one, at that...? Wow, we barely lasted a week this time. I’m honestly impressed. Next time we get back together, it’ll be less than twenty-four hours.” He scoffed. 

“Pl-please…”

“Next time you plan to cheat on me you should probably at least tell Jeongin to keep it a secret, huh?” He said, pulling his phone out of his pants pocket. ‘ _Daddy, we are going to eat Chinese food at Mr. Jisung’s house tonight!’_ ” He mocked. “Poor show, Minho. You didn’t fucking even cheat _well_.”

“I didn’t… I— He stuttered. He couldn’t even muster the words to tell Changbin that he hadn’t cheated, because technically, he'd be lying, again; like he'd been lying this entire time. He’d let Jisung kiss him, not once, but twice, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss him for even longer and never stop.

“How dare you?” Changbin hissed, his brow furrowing so low Minho could barely make out the details of his face through the shadow cast across him under the night’s sky. “How dare you run your mouth about me hurting you, and the pain _I’ve_ put _you_ through. You’re really something else, huh?”

“I am so, so, sorry Changbin.”

“Forget about it, this whole thing. It’s over between us, for good, now. You’ve broken me before and I won’t let you do that again.” The younger man said, pulling open his car door so aggressively it made Minho flinch. “Have a nice life with him.” He grunted, sliding his leg back into the driver’s seat and slamming the door closed. He started to reverse the car out backwards towards the road before his window rolled down.

“I’ll pick Jeongin up on Friday, tell Seung he can come if he wants. Send them outside to meet me, I don’t want to have to be around you for longer than necessary.” He shouted out of the window at him, launching a small silvery box at his feet before he drove off.

His words were laced with so much venom that Minho couldn’t even hide how much it ruined him. He’d simultaneously destroyed his could-be relationship with Jisung, at the same time as making the father of his children hate his entire being.

He picked up the box, tugging at the little cream ribbon around it to unwrap it. It was a small rose-gold locket with a little picture of Seungmin and Jeongin in a teacup at Everland mounted inside of it. The tears started rushing down his cheeks again, he couldn’t even get a tangible breath out. All he felt was utter hopelessness taking over his body as he slumped to the ground, clutching the box tightly in his palm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :) wow i hate myself
> 
> Thank you all so, so much for reading this, I can't believe I wake up to nice comments about this whole mess! I'm so appreciative, I can't believe I nearly hit 500 kudos :'( Thank you so much everyone x
> 
> Twitter: @YfwbbS


	19. Who Cover Faults, At Last Shame Then Derides

**Thursday, 6:32pm** 🐱

Days went by, weeks went by, and within the blink of an eye, a whole month had passed since Minho royally messed up. Minho and Jisung had barely acknowledged each other at all since. Not at the diner, not at the boys’ school, not even after work when they awkwardly caught each other’s eye from across the road. Minho even resigned himself to staying inside whenever Jisung was outside serenading Felix on his porch; it was too much for him to handle hearing Jisung’s sweet falsetto echoing in his ears.

Minho despised not seeing him, not being able to sleepily lean against him whilst the boys ran around on makeshift broomsticks, or not being able to tease Jisung about his sappy, romantic tendencies and his horrendous cooking whilst they watched badly-staged police chases.

Deep down, he accepted that this was just what Jisung wanted. He had hurt him; so Jisung was within every right to resent him.... Fortunately, Felix was still fairly active in his life. Although he and Jisung may have spectacularly cut ties for the foreseeable future, they were far too invested in the friendship between their kids to force them apart due to their own problems.

Minho and the boys had barely been home five minutes before Felix was hammering at the door excited for some of Minho’s soon-to-be stir-fry. He was standing on the porch in his little orange hoodie and pink rucksack sitting high up on his back as he excitedly gripped the straps. He could see Jisung from a distance, watching from the front yard to make sure he got across the road safely. He gave him an uneasy _half smile_ out of the window, before he observed the other man indifferently walk back inside.

 _Fuck,_ it hurt him so bad.

He welcomed Felix in, Jeongin and him immediately skipping to the kitchen to frame Felix’s newest cat ‘ _SoONie, dOgie and DOree_ ’ drawing, using one of Minho’s calendar magnets to attach it to the refrigerator. Minho set the pot to simmer whilst the boys kept slipping cold noodles in to their mouths from beside him; him and Jeongin giggling between them thinking that Minho had no idea they were doing it. From across the kitchenette, he could see Seungmin head into the study, head down, tablet firmly under his arm, closing the door behind him resolutely.

The last months’ events had seemingly affected Seungmin the most, but whenever Minho attempted to talk to him about it, he was instantly shut down. That, or the conversation resorted back to ‘ _I told you so’s_ and restrained crying.

Since he and Changbin split, _again_ , Seungmin hadn’t been to a single baseball game, sports club, or even so much as seen Changbin on his weekend, even when Changbin offered up karaoke. The only thing he’d smiled about in the last few weeks was taking second place in the talent show semi-finals. He’d been rehearsing his songs during afterschool club most days and had been exclusively focusing on only that...

 _Fuck,_ it hurt him so bad; arguably more than his debaucheries behind Changbin’s back, or his fictitious _‘break up’_ with Jisung...

“Felix, do you want more noodles?” Minho asked across the counter island. The freckled boy clapped his hands together and nodded, opening his mouth widely. Minho walked, chuckling at him softly, opting to scrape some out on to his plate, rather than directly into his mouth like he usually insisted.

“How was school today, boys?” Minho asked, peeling off his work blazer. He’d barely even gotten dressed out of his work clothes before Felix arrived at his door this time. 

“It was okay. At P.E today, we got to mix the classes so me and Felix got to be in the same class for a while!” Jeongin said, smiling across at the boy next to him and tapping him on the hand. “I played cricket!”

“That’s great, Jeongie. Did you get to be on the same team?”

“Well, Felix didn’t want to play cricket. So, he did rounders with some of the girls instead, but we sat together at the start!”

“I just like rounders more than cricket… That’s why I didn’t play.” Felix said, rather abruptly, suddenly clanging his cutlery into the table in his fists.

“I thought you liked the girls’ team more because Jaehyun and Jinhwan were playing cricket?” Jeongin replied, looking at him with a confused little expression on his face.

“No! I just like sitting on the other side because—I just like it, okay!” Felix suddenly snapped his head across to glare at Jeongin and Minho found himself a little puzzled at Felix’s random outburst.

“It’s okay to sit with the girls, Felix, I like them too.” Jeongin replied. “They’re not mean to you like Jaehyun and Jinhwan.” Jeongin said, rather matter-of-factly; his under-developed ‘child filter’ not comprehending that whatever he just said, totally sent Felix into an emotional spiral…

“Jeongie! Don’t talk about it!” Felix shouted, rising from the chair. “You said you wouldn’t tell anyone!” He shrieked, unexpectedly _bursting_ into tears, and running out of the room, slamming the door on the way out.

Minho closed his eyes and rubbed his hand over his face in utter exhaustion, as he heard the little _‘click’_ of the storage room under the stairs latching. He wandered out, halting by the tiny cupboard. He leant down to the door, putting his ear to it. He could hear Felix quietly weeping through the wood…

Minho knew this was a serious situation, but he couldn’t help but find it _somewhat_ humorous that Felix was currently obsessed with Harry Potter, and he was hiding in the cupboard under the stairs…

“Felix, don’t be upset. Come on, please come out of there.” Minho fussed and cooed repeatedly through the door, tapping on it with his knuckles. His knees were far too fragile to be kneeling down for this long, so he ended up sitting crossed legged on the laminate, groaning internally, wondering how on Earth he was going to convince him to come out. His cries had near enough stifled after about twenty minutes, Minho’s lower half entirely numb, by then.

“Felix… Come on…”

“I’m not coming out! I’m never coming out ever again!” The boy shouted through the door.

“Felix, do you want me to call your Dad?” He sighed, grimacing at the idea of Jisung having to come around for the first time in a month. It would definitely be the right thing to do, but it certainly wouldn’t be an easy feat.

“No! Don’t! He’ll be mad that I lied about the boys! Don’t tell him! P-Please don’t-don’t tell him! He will get mad and, and he will get hurt again!” He screamed, louder and louder; Minho could barely even make out what he was even _saying_ in between his frenzied sobbing. He could hear the boy smacking his hands across the wood on the inside of the door at the suggestion of involving Jisung.

“Felix, he won’t be mad at you... Can you come out and talk to _me_ then? There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. Please just tell me what’s been going on.”

“You’ll laugh at me!”

“No, I won’t. I promise you. Please come out.”

Suddenly, Minho heard the little click of the latch from the inside of the door. Felix’s head slowly bobbed through the opening, peering up to Minho with dampened, puffy cheeks, sniffling and sucking in his hitched breaths. Minho put his hand out, and Felix gently slotted his palm into it and pulled forward to wrap his arms around his neck. He nuzzled his cheek against the top of Minho’s hair for a moment.

“The boys, they- they say mean things about me. They say… They say that I dress like a girl and I look like a girl.” He sniffled. Minho sighed at him and pulled him backwards to settle him on his lap into the space between his crossed legs.

“Why do they say that...?” Minho immediately leaned him backwards to look at him, rubbing at his tiny, swollen face to soak up his tears with his thumbs.

“Because I said purple is my favourite color and they said purple is for girls.”

“Purple isn’t for girls? My tie is purple, right?” Minho said, confused, tugging at his periwinkle, silk tie with his index finger and thumb. Felix grabbed at it to feel the smooth material in between his own fingers, before gently brushing it against his cheek to feel how soft it was, backwards and forwards. Minho tried not to squirm at the sight of Felix spreading snot over a 120000₩ silk press…

“Do you think I’m dressed ‘like a girl’ because I’m wearing purple?” Minho asked, laughing a little at the utter absurdity of these stupid kids feeling the need to pass judgement on a kid as delightful as Felix...

“No…” He mumbled, sounding even tinier than usual.

“Okay, so purple isn’t ‘for girls’ then, is it?”

“I guess not…”

“People don’t own colors Felix. Colors are for everyone no matter what you are! I could say that orange is for dinosaurs, does that make you a dinosaur because you’re wearing orange?!” He said, tugging at Felix’s tangerine-colored hoodie toggle to draw him closer, bopping him on the tip of his nose with his index finger.

“No…” Felix giggled.

“Plus, who decides which clothes go on girls and which clothes go on boys?” Minho said, cocking an eyebrow.

“I don’t know.”

“No one! There isn’t a magical wizard for clothes who decides who is allowed to wear things. No one should tell you what you should wear Felix, as long as you are comfortable. That hoodie looks very comfortable, to me…”

“It is!” He said, nodding, balling his fists up.

“You should wear whatever you want, there is no such thing as ‘girl clothes’ and ‘boy clothes’, there’s just… Clothes.”

“Really?”

“Really. Come on, let’s go back through to the kitchen and find Jeongin and we can see if we have some ice cream, okay?” Minho questioned, brushing Felix’s bangs off of his sticky face.

“Okay…” He mumbled.

“Felix, you really should tell your Dad about this, too. Don’t you think?”

“I… What if… He might be embarrassed of me.” He said, pouting his bottom lip out and looking down to fiddle with his hoodie toggle again.

“Felix. That is silly, he wouldn’t ever be embarrassed of you. Do you want me to talk to him?”

“I don’t know… Maybe…” He looked back to the older man, who cocked his head to the side to look at him. “O-okay.”

 **12:48pm** **🐿️---**

** The boys! **

Me, .Chris.  🐺, Hyunjinnie  🦙

Who’s game for Friday guys night at mine? Felix’s Mom has cancelled again. 

He really misses you guys so anyone up for it?

Hang out and then beers later in the night?

.Chris.  🐺:

Wow, again? That’s like the third time in a row…

Awhhh, of course!

I can be free after work.

Haven’t seen my little dude in a while! x

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

oh good, yes please

some guy is trying to take me to ‘late afternoon tea’??

…😬

that certainly isn’t the kind of cake i want

.Chris. 🐺:

Sheeeeesh…

What’s wrong with that?

I think that’s kinda charming… It’s different, at least. Sweet, yet, sophisticated. Like a proper date! x

Hyunjinnie🦙:

🤢🤢🤢

One day Jinnie…

You’ll find someone you want to settle down with!

And when you do, I’ll be the best man. 😊

.Chris. 🐺:

Hey, me too. Two best men! x

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

please don’t make me retch

it’s only midday, i have three periods of 10th graders left before i can even start drinking

it’s way too early to retch

Chris.  🐺:

Is Minho coming this time? Or have you two not buried the hatchet yet?

It’s only been like a month Chan…

I’m not just gonna get over it that fast...?

Chris.  🐺:

Sorry man!

Didn’t mean to rub salt in the wound or anything, I was just curious! x

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

you're so dramatic Sung

like

okay so maybe he was dating someone when he kissed you

who hasn't been in that kind of situation before right?

Chris.  🐺:

Not me? I haven't... x

Me neither…?

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

…………………… oh

just me?

regardless

he told you he likes you right?

so you were right that there was something between you two

you said this other dude was a lot of hard work, maybe it was just a lack of judgement?

i’d know

i’m the king of that

That’s not the point Jin.

He literally lied to me and told me he wanted to break it off with him

And he ended up asking him out

Then he didn’t tell me

Like, what am I meant to say?

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

well, whatever

it was kinda shitty but at the end of the day people make mistakes

plus you’ve been on this mopey crap for too long imo

sort your shit out or find someone else!!!!

though honestly no offense but you're not gonna find someone that hot again

he's a solid 8.5/10 - sorry to say...

.Chris.  🐺:

I think what Hyunjin means to say is...

We hate to see you unhappy, Jisung.

You two did seem to go well together, from what I saw, anyway.

Whatever happens, I hope you guys can eventually be friends again.

For Felix’s sake, at the very least. x

Felix still goes round there, he and Minho’s son are best friends. He’s even going there tonight…

I just make a point of not collecting him.

I do miss him, it’s just… I don’t want to ‘give in’ or something?

Sounds dumb, I know...

What if we actually /do/ manage to fix things and he ends up going back to his ex again?

I just don’t want to be the second-best option.

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

But didn’t you say he told you he’s been into you since he first saw you or whatever??

he wouldn’t make the same mistake

plus he knows you like him back now!!

I’m just not sure, anymore.

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

Plus what does the ex look like

???

You’re not serious...

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

i’m just saying, to help out, i’ll take him off your hands if he’s above a 6.5/10

i’m just trying to be a good friend

Hwang Hyunjin…

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

Okay fine, a 6/10

taking one for the team

Lunch period is ending.

I’ll see you Saturday, Channie! x

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

heeeeeey

.Chris.  🐺:

See you then Jisung, post 6:30ish, I’m in the studio until then. X

Hyunjinnie 🦙:

wait

lunch period doesn’t finish for like 30 minutes…

don’t ignore me

HEY

 **8:08pm** 🐱 **\---**

Minho walked Felix back across the street, it was past 8:00pm and Jeongin and Seungmin needed to take a bath and get ready for bed. Felix was clutching to him tightly, slightly dazed after the whirlwind of emotions he’d felt that evening coupled with the slowly blackening sky washing over them. The sun was just setting in the distance, a cool breeze trickling through the mild temperature. 

He came to Jisung’s door, number 16, and knocked gently, just enough to be heard but certainly not Changbin-level dynamics. Jisung slowly pulled the door open, casually dressed in white tank and grey sweatpants, Minho considered he might’ve been working out beforehand.

“Hey, Jisung.”

“Oh. Hey.”

Minho stood there, suddenly still, like he was suffering through a devastating bout of stage fright. This was the closest he’d been to Jisung in a while. His breath hitched at the sight of him like it always used to; he was so attracted to the younger man it was almost _criminal._

“It was nice to see you as always, Felix.” Minho said, slightly jutting his arm as if to shake the boy off of him.

“Felix, what do you say to Mr. Lee?” Jisung said, criss-crossing his arms across his chest, leaning against the wall. Minho tried desperately not to look at his biceps tensing as he did so…

“Thank you for having me, Mr. Lee.” He said, separating from the man bowing to him. Minho’s top lip curled up into a sour smile, secretly loathing that Felix had started referring to him by his second name again in front of Jisung. Felix wasn’t someone who could leave without a cuddle though, so once he’d bowed, he grabbed on to Minho again, giving him a quick nuzzle against his stomach.

“Come on Lix, let’s get inside, now.” Jisung said, patting him on the head as he slipped past him.

“Hey, Jisung?” He said quickly, cutting in before he could follow Felix inside. Jisung turned back towards him, halting him closing the door.

“Yeah?”

“Can I just, have a word with you? I’ll be quick.”

He watched Jisung suddenly turn and pull the door back open, giving Felix a thumbs up to go upstairs to his room. Minho could’ve sworn he’d heard the other man softly sigh, sliding his hands in to his front pockets with his shoulders _noticeably_ tensed.

“Sure.” He exhaled. “Fire away.”

“So… Felix told me tonight, that he’s still having a hard time with the boys at school.”

“He told you that?” He said, slightly bewildered. He took a step outside of the door and pulled it to, stifling the volume of his voice a little towards the end of his sentence.

“Yeah. He told me that they call him names in class. And… It’s- It’s been going on for a while… Still.”

“I knew it… He always denies it.” Jisung said, running his hand through his hair, brushing his bangs aside. “I thought that whole thing had blown over. He hadn’t mentioned anything in a while.”

“They say—”

“—Let me guess. They say that he’s a fairy?” Jisung interrupted, shaking his head from side to side and dragging his hands down from his hair to drape them either side at his hips.

“What…?”

“That’s what they say about him. That’s what _that guy_ said, the guy that I punched. He told me that Felix acted like a fairy, so I hit him.”

Minho’s eyes widened in sheer disgust. Jisung had never told him the reason that he’d gotten into the scrap with the other parent, he just assumed it was a matter of misjudged pride about who’s kid ‘had started it’.

“Oh my God… Jisung, I’m so sorry.” Minho said, his mouth agape. “I was so hard on you for punching him; I didn’t know that’s why you did it.” He explained apologetically. 

“Yeah well, if you knew me at all, you’d know I wouldn’t just hit someone with no valid reason.” He retorted, slight bitterness in his words. It cut Minho surprisingly deep, he did know Jisung well; or at least, he _used_ to.

“He asked me not to tell you, to begin with, but I just thought you should know. He doesn’t seem to want to tell you in case he embarrasses you, or something.”

“But he told _you_ about it?” Jisung said, the obvious irritation and disappointment building up behind his eyes that Felix would tell Minho but not him.

“Y-yes. I’m sorry, I don’t want to interfere or anything. You’re his Dad.” Minho responded defensively.

He watched as Jisung sighed, shoving his hands in his pockets again. His eyes were flitting around, obviously trying not to catch the older man’s eyes. He eventually caved through the discomfort, and let his gaze linger back to connect with Minho’s. He exhaled, seemingly letting go of some of his hostility.

“No, it’s fine. He feels comfortable with you. He’s always felt comfortable with you, Minho… Thank you for telling me.”

“If you want, I can speak to the Principal about it. I’m on the PTA board and Seungie’s Kingfisher Class Captain… Plus, I know some people… I have quite a lot of pull at that school, so if you want me to talk to him about it… I mean, only if you want, though.” He rambled.

“That's okay. I’ll talk to his teacher again when I see her next. Last time, they said it was impossible to transfer him in the middle of the term... Thank you for the offer, though.”

“Sure. No problem. I just hate seeing him unhappy.” Minho said, his lip twisting into a sorrowful smile, before sucking his lip in between his teeth to suppress it.

Jisung nodded, before turning back to head towards the door. Minho took as that his serendipitous cue to leave; the air had become understandingly uncomfortable between them, so he gave him a small parting bow as he turned heel to head back across the street.

“Jisung…” He suddenly blurted out, stopping dead in his tracks. He swivelled back around, clasping his fists together to try and urge himself to say something; _anything._ Jisung was standing in the hallway, about to close the door when he jolted his head up at the mention of his name.

“Yeah?” he said, absent-mindedly. 

“I really am sorry, about everything that happened between us. You know that, right?”

“Yeah. I know.”

"If I could take it back... I would. You know that too, right?"

"Yeah. I know." 

“Okay, well… Goodnight, I guess.”

“Goodnight, Minho.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this felt strangely glum to write after the last chapter, a little bit of an unwind i guess!  
> i did have a seungmin/minho scene planned out but this was already long so i've moved it around a bit
> 
> next chapter is my fav, fav, fav so far so please look forward to it! <3
> 
> also why is hyunjin so chaotic  
> what have i done here


	20. Pray You Now, Forget And Forgive

**Friday, 5:45pm** **🐱**

“Seung, don’t you think it’s a bit late for that now, your Dad’s nearly here?” He fussed, appearing behind him, and attempting to stroke the top of his hair, which was ultimately shrugged off, as usual. “Are you not going, again?”

“No. I need to study even harder than before.” Seungmin retorted, further burying his head back into his book on the desk.

“Come on Seung… Why?” He droned on. Minho wasn’t even particularly sure _why_ he tried to convince Seungmin to see his Dad by this point. It had been months now and there was seemingly no change in his attitude.

“Because I got a bad grade, Dad. I got a _B_.” He said, shaking his little head from side to side and huffing. “So, I need to work harder.” He enunciated and clarified the ‘ _B_ ’ so intensely, Minho couldn’t help but roll his eyes.

“Seung, a B is not a ‘bad grade’ at all...” He crossed his arms over his chest, throwing his head backwards.

“Well...” He hesitated, putting his pen back down to the table and leaning his arm backwards over the chair to look back at him. “It was an _English test_ , Dad.”

“ _Oh_ …” Minho said, immediately relaxing his arms and softening upon hearing his regretful little tone. Seungmin had never dropped past an A in English since he started learning back when he was little. “I’m sorry to hear that Seungie. I’m sure it’s just a slip up—”

“I miss Mr. Jisung. Why doesn’t he come over anymore? I’m going to fail if he doesn’t help me.” He sighed.

“Seung… You’re not ever going to fail anything, you’re far too smart for that. Plus, Jisung, we—”

“Does he not like me, anymore?” Seungmin said, looking him dead in the eyes. His big brown eyes looking glassy as he stared at him. He dropped his head down, his lip veering into a little pout.

“It’s not that…” Minho said. He wandered over to Seungmin’s perfectly-made bed, perching on the side of it with a little bounce. He patted the space next to him to summon Seungmin across, who reluctantly got up and ambled over with little-to-no enthusiasm, slouching next to him. He curled his legs up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them and placing his head on his knees.

“Then what is it?”

“No, Seungmin, it’s… It’s my fault. I upset him and now he’s mad at _me_. He’s not mad at you.” Minho sighed. He considered that his actions had hurt Seungmin enough recently, and whilst the younger boy was in a calm enough mood, he decided he owed it to Seungmin to try and smooth things over and tell him the truth, for once.

“You always make people mad at you, Dad.” He groaned. “Then they leave.”

“Seung… I’m sorry.” He placed his hand on the back of Seungmin’s back, rubbing a little line across his shoulder blades. "I’ve put you through a lot recently, I know. I’m so sorry for making you feel this way.” He said, apologetically, leaning in to rest his head against him.

“I told you what would happen, and you didn’t listen to me. You never listen to me. You treat me like I’m a stupid kid…” He huffed but _not totally_ resentfully; his little tough-guy façade crumbling as he felt the comfort of his Dad’s skinship.

“Seungmin, you are a kid. You’re 9 years old…!” Minho softly laughed.

“Yeah, I’m 9 years old. I’m 9 years old and I _still_ know what will happen better than you do! You and Dad argued all the time, I hate it when you’re together. I used to think it would be better when we were like a normal family like my friends, but it just… It makes things worse.”

Suddenly there was the familiarly insufferable sound of Changbin’s engine filling the street droning in through Seungmin’s window.

“I want to go through my English-speaking exercises, now.” Seungmin said, rising from the bed, jolting Minho’s head off of his own. He walked back across to his desk and plunged back down into his computer chair, exhaling through his shaken breath.

“Seungie, please don’t be mad at your Dad forever. He’s really trying.”

“How?” He retorted.

“Well, don’t tell him that I told you, but he’s bought you tickets to see that band that you like. He was going to surprise you...”

“He doesn’t like _Day6_ , he’s just—

“—He’s _trying_ , to show you that he cares about you, Seungie. Maybe you should consider doing the same.”

 **6:05pm** **🐱---**

Luckily, Changbin had not been _stopping by_ anymore, rather, assertively honking the horn to indicate he was there, instead. Seungmin decided to stay in, once again, with only Jeongin deciding to see him. Minho had tried to wave at Changbin out of the window, which was reciprocated with the quintessential _mother of all eyerolls_ …

He wasn’t _particularly surprised_ that Changbin was still furious at him, but between Changbin not so much as even talking to him if he could help it, and Jisung actively living his comfortable life without him, he couldn’t help but feel lonesome. _Luckily, he had his feline trio to get him through_ , he thought.

Minho glanced out of his blinds, peering through the crevice he’d created with his fingers. Outside of Jisung’s house, pulling up in a big black Jeep at the same time as Changbin leaving, was Chan. He watched as the older man sauntered to the door with a case of beers in his hand, tapping away at his phone in the other. Ms. Park gave him a _full body_ up-and-down whilst peering over her Dior sunglasses…

Before he managed to get to the first step, Felix swung the door open and launched his teeny body at him, clasping his arms around the man’s legs shouting “ _Uncle Channie_!” in tiny, babbled English. Jisung appeared behind him, accepting the beers from Chan’s hands before he welcomed him in with a hug. 

Not fifteen minutes later, Hyunjin showed up too with an entire bottle of some kind of clear spirit in his hand. His hair was tinged candyfloss pink this time and he was donning skin-tight grey trousers and a weathered-looking leather jacket. Minho could only assume the weathered look was a purposeful choice, and Hyunjin did look really great in it, but all he could think about was how good Jisung might look in a leather jacket, too.

It hurt to watch them have a get together without him, for some reason. Jisung didn’t owe him anything, and they were _his_ friends, he had absolutely no right to be annoyed, but it didn’t stop his subconscious dwelling on it for the rest of the evening…

He found himself heading to the kitchen, pouring himself a rather hefty glass or two of raspberry wine; he was certainly going to need it. He sat and watched the terrible police show, the one that he and Jisung would watch, curled up with Soonie and Doongie on either side of him. By this point, Dori’s social calendar was more booked up than his own, so he had no idea where she could even be; she was such a stop-out...

Throughout the night, he could hear the men from across the road getting louder; it was almost making him lose concentration from the overly-dramatized car chase he was _oh, so focused on_. It was obvious when Felix had gone to bed because the whooping and laughter seemed to get much more prevalent and noticeable past 10:00pm, likely as the drinks started flowing.

Suddenly, his phone buzzed, startling the cats a little. He reached into the dressing gown pocket and pulled the phone out to read the notification. It was _Hyunjin…_

_22:38 :_ **Hwang Hyunjin**

you big iodot

you big dumb idiot,,

you messedup bad!!!

cme outside!!!!

It wasn’t like Minho needed reminding that he’d horrifically messed up with Jisung, but it didn’t make it hurt any less to know that they were probably all talking about him. He wondered if he should reply, but he figured Hyunjin had obviously been drinking, and he didn’t want to start any unnecessary drama whilst Seungmin was probably still awake (under his blanket reading, pretending that he’d gone to bed hours ago).

He got up, slinking across the room quietly on tiptoe, peering out of the blind again and squinting through the blanket of darkness outside. He could see Hyunjin walking out into the middle of the road with his arms crossed, barely illuminated by the one singular streetlamp in the cul-de-sac.

“Hey, Minho!” Hyunjin shouted across the way, with his hands around his mouth in an attempt to amplify the sound. “Hey _Mi-iiiii-nho_! Here boy!” He shouted, chuckling afterwards.

Minho swallowed, hard. It was bad enough that he’d been totally isolated from everyone, now he was about to receive a verbal beatdown from Jisung’s obviously intoxicated best friend... He composed himself, before wandering out of the living room through the opening to the hall to look through the peephole of the front door. He could see that Chan was leaning out of Jisung’s door, and Jisung had started to near-enough _sprint_ out after Hyunjin. He unchained the door, opening it with a little _click_.

“Hello?”

“Minho! Oh good, you’re drinking, too!” Hyunjin said, excitedly pointing to the glass of wine in Minho’s hand. “You need to get out here and sort this whole mess out! Right now!” He stomped his foot, losing his balance a little as he stumbled forwards to grasp on to Minho’s gate. He watched as Jisung abruptly grabbed Hyunjin by the arms, yanking him backwards.

“I’m sorry Minho, we’ve had a bit to drink _. This one_ especially.” Jisung said diffidently, bowing to him from behind Hyunjin.

“Well, _I’m_ not sorry!” Hyunjin sniggered, pushing Jisung away from him, unlocking the latch and ambling further up Minho’s driveway, bounding to his front door. Minho found himself defensively putting his arms up, as if Hyunjin were about to attack him or something…

“Look, my son’s upstairs, it’s really late. Please, keep your voice down.” Minho said, hushing him, trying to diffuse the situation.

Hyunjin sloppily placed his hand down on the inside of Minho’s doorframe, slumping against it with a grin across his face until his cheek unceremoniously collided with the door. “How about you get your _fine ass_ out here and make things right with my best pal over here, huh?!” He giggled.

“Hyunjin!” Chan shouted across, in a muted stage whisper.

“I’m serious!” Hyunjin said, whining loudly to the point where it made Minho grimace.

“Um, I… I don’t know what to—” Minho said, faltering.

“Hyunjin, you are a total mess. Come on, this isn’t college. You’re a grown man!” Jisung shouted as he ran up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders, spinning him back around the other way to the direction of his own front yard. Hyunjin just turned his head back over his shoulder messily, grinning at him. 

“Hey Minho… You know I _totally would’ve…_ Because you’re _so hot,_ you know?” He slurred. “But I didn’t! I didn’t go there because Sungie liked you _so badly_. And after all that, you didn’t even end up together! It’s criminal!”

“That’s enough, Jinnie, come on! This is not the time.” Jisung hissed.

“No, I’m not leaving until you two make amends!” He whined, throwing his arms around himself again and huffing. “You are not letting someone this attractive get away when they’re literally only across the road Sungie! I will hold my damn breath!”

Jisung looked up to Minho, there was an uncomfortable, almost apologetic atmosphere between them. Minho watched as he started to speak, then instead, faltered and decided to swallow his words.

“I’m sorry to disturb your evening, Minho.” Jisung said, bowing out and gesturing to Chan with his hand to help Hyunjin make it across the road with his body intact.

 **Saturday, 1:25am** **🐿️---**

Jisung squinted at his phone, it was so vivid in comparison to how dark it was outside.

It was nearly 1:30am, and here he was, sneaking out of his own house in some desperate attempt to try and make amends with someone who had well, and truly, fucked him over.

He envisioned that maybe the five beers and few bottles of soju he’d had earlier in the night weren’t entirely helping his emotional state, either.

He cursed how forgiving he was; he really wanted nothing other than to hold a grudge like Hyunjin could…

But he couldn’t, and he didn’t know why.

He’d known for weeks how badly he missed Minho, but he’d been actively brushing the emotions aside, hoping that the older man would leave his thoughts.

But they didn’t, and he didn’t know why.

All he knew was, seeing Minho’s pained expression earlier when Hyunjin had called him out, had hurt _way more_ than Jisung could have ever anticipated.

He wanted nothing more than to run over to him, wrap his arms around him and never let go.

So here he was, at nearly 1:30am, sneaking out of his own house in some desperate attempt to try and make amends with someone who he had well and truly, fallen head-over-heels for.

He’d need to stay strong here; the plan was to simply apologise for Hyunjins behaviour, then ask Minho to bury the hatchet so they can be civil to each other again.

He wasn’t about to _totally_ forget his sense of pride.

If he caved now, he’d never hear the end of it.

He pulled his phone out and tapped on Minho’s name, taking a deep breath in and out.

He’d actually blocked Minho’s number in a desperate attempt to try and forget about him.

Though that hadn’t stopped him unblocking and re-blocking it, just to see if Minho ever contacted him again, so really it was entirely pointless.

He unblocked the number and typed out a message.

 _01:28:_ You:

Hey, I didn’t want to knock because it’s late.

But I’m outside your door.

You’re probably asleep.

But yeah. 

_01:31pm_ Minhoooo🐈

I’m not asleep.

I’ll be right down.

 **1:34am** **🐱 ---**

“Jisung... Hey. What are you doing here so late?”

“I just wanted to stop by and say that I’m really sorry about earlier… Hyunjin, and the stuff he said. Some of it was pretty full on, I wouldn't ever want to disturb either of the boys. I’m also... I'm sorry if you felt objectified, or whatever, with what Hyunjin said about you…” Jisung said nervously, his voice sounding hoarse, likely from having a night filled with drinking and shouting.

“It’s okay, it’s been a while since someone’s called me _hot_ , I must say.” Minho said, scoffing at the absurdity of it all.

“Well, Hyunjin’s 20 years old, at heart.”

“Is Felix okay?” Minho asked.

“Oh yeah, he’s totally conked out. Chan’s in my guest room and Hyunjin is passed out on my bed, so...” He awkwardly laughed, rubbing at the nape of his neck.

Minho nodded, still ducked behind his door to retain the warmth of his house. To make matters particularly more awkward between them, Minho hadn’t realised that he was in fact still wearing Jisung’s fluffy, blue, dressing gown from that night outside on Jisung’s veranda. He saw Jisung look him up and down when he saw it. A red flush encompassed Minho’s cheeks in sheer embarrassment...

“Can I- Can I come in?” Jisung said, slipping his hands in to his pockets. It was chilly outside, and Minho couldn’t bare to see him look uncomfortable. 

“Sure, totally. Come in.” He said, peeling the door back and moving backwards so Jisung could move past him. He slipped his shoes off, before heading straight into the living room. “Sorry, I haven’t really had time to tidy up.” Minho apologised. He grabbed at the bottle, and the wine glass, and the little assortment of snacks he’d been munching on throughout the night.

“You tidied up that bottle of wine, pretty quickly.” Jisung scoffed, gesturing to the empty bottle as he walked past. “Plus, you and I both know your ‘messy’ is nowhere near the _standard persons’_ idea of messy...” He followed Minho through into the kitchenette as he promptly dropped the empty packets in to the trash and discarded the empty glasses in the sink.

“I love that picture of the boys, at the diner. I have it framed at my house, too.” Jisung said, gesturing to the photo standing up on the bookcase as he walked through. “It’s one of my favourites...”

“Jisung…” Minho exhaled, placing his hands on either side of the sink as he slumped over it. “I—” 

“I’m sorry.” Jisung interjected.

Minho suddenly turned around, face screwed up in confusion and hurt that Jisung could ever believe he’d done something wrong in this whole mess...

“W-What? Why are _you_ sorry? I’m the one who should be sorry!”

“If I’d just told you how I felt about you from the start… I just… I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.” He mumbled.

“Jisung, please don’t apologise; you did nothing wrong. I’ve made so many mistakes I’ve lost count.” Minho said, shaking his head. “Please, I mean it. None of this is your fault.”

“You and Changbin… I haven’t seen you two around—”

“—We’re over. He found out I had feelings for you and ended it with me on the spot. He pretty much hates my guts, and I don’t blame him at all.”

“Well, you knew you wouldn’t last.” Jisung nodded, sucking his lower lip in between his teeth.

“I know. I thought I just kind of assumed a relationship like that was the best I was ever going to get. I never expected you to actually feel the way for me that I did for you…” He watched as Jisung’s face dropped down into a hopeless little smile, it was totally despairing, and it cut through Minho so profoundly it made his lip shake just knowing it was his fault. “Well, yeah... It doesn’t matter because I fucked it all up anyway.”

“How are the boys, with you two breaking up?”

“Well, it’s not exactly flowers and rainbows. Plus, I’ve never heard _‘I told you so’_ from a 9-year-old so much in my entire life. Anyway, what’s done is done, I guess. I made my bed, now I have to sleep in it…” He sighed. “By this point, it’s more like I’m hibernating in it...”

“I was so mad about Changbin. I didn’t understand why you’d do that, and I still don’t—”

“—I don’t either, Jisung, I won’t even try and justify what the hell was going on with my head.”

“—But, I’ve been thinking… Maybe, we should put it behind us...”

“Are you serious? I mean, if you want to hate me for a little longer, I’d totally understand?” Minho stared at him in total astonishment, cocking his head to the side as he took a step closer to him.

“No, Minho. I could never hate you. No matter how much I might want to sometimes. And trust me, I really wanted to.” Jisung said, laughing gently. He slipped his hands back into his pockets again, Minho noticed that he’d do that if he felt apprehensive; it was one of those little traits that he found incredibly endearing.

“I’d never have forgiven me…”

“Well, maybe I’m just the bigger man.” Jisung mocked, letting a tiny smile wrench at his lips. They stood there, staring at each other from either side of the kitchenette in infiltrating silence.

“So, that’s… That’s it? We’re okay now? We can talk to each other again?” Minho questioned, slightly bewildered at what exactly had just happened.

“Well... I guess? I don’t think I’ve really done something like this before. I guess we’ll just be kinda normal to each other. Felix has been wondering why you don’t come around ours, anymore.”

“Seung’s _hated_ not seeing you.”

“Okay, well. Let’s start, from this moment forward, we’ll try and be civil?” Jisung said decisively, jutting his head up and down.

“Like, friends?” Minho asked.

“I mean, that’s a little fast, I guess… Maybe, ‘ _acquaintances’_?” Jisung said, his words were coated with the regular level of dryness that he’d come to expect from Jisung. He really had missed his quaint sense of humor brightening his mood.

“Even that’s a little much. How about, _‘associates’_?” Minho retorted, mirroring his sarcasm.

“Deal.” Jisung laughed.

Minho reached his hand out towards Jisung, to which he happily obliged to the gesture by grabbing a hold of his palm. They started to shake hands, before looking to each other; Jisung’s hand started squeezing his tighter and tighter and their shake became way more dramatic and over-exaggerated until they were yanking each other’s hands up and down.

They gazed at each other and tried to stifle their laughter at the _utter absurdity_ of shaking each other’s hand after everything they’d been through together. Minho looked up to him with such a sense of relief, his features softening at the sight of the younger man smirking at him like he used to.

The amusement settled down, and Jisung was smiling dopily back at him for longer than expected as they stood there in silence again, still holding on to each others’ hand. That same smile quickly fell into an indescribable feeling between them; a tension that Minho couldn’t quite explain. He wasn’t sure if it was adrenaline, or the wine buzz, or a mixture of both, but Jisung’s eyes bore in to his own with such intent it was overwhelming.

Jisung pulled Minho forward by his hand, jolting him further to meet him, pulling him in to force their lips together. Minho was so taken aback, he barely even knew what to do with his hands, as he feverishly shook them around next to him as Jisung wrapped his hands around either side of his face.

He felt Jisung start to lean his body back with the intensity of the kiss, his knees buckling a little at the motion. He decided to glide his arms around him too, grabbing him either side of his hips to attempt to steady himself. 

Jisung walked him backwards, each step matching the rhythm of their kiss. The back of Minho’s legs collided against the cabinets under the counter as Jisung's hands made their way from his face, down his neck then eventually around his waist to unfasten the fabric belt of the dressing gown. It fell open, the younger man suddenly sliding his hands around the back of it to grasp the back of both of his thighs, lifting him straight off of the ground and firmly planting him on the countertop.

The unexpected movement knocked Minho’s sugar cannister over; spilling it all over the surface, and it didn't even cross his mind _once_ to pick it up.

Through his daze of suddenly being _manhandled_ , Minho broke their kiss to look at him in a total daze. Their frenzied eyes met for a few seconds before Minho leaned back in towards him to continue their kiss, exploring his mouth with his tongue, gripping at the back of his hair, threading his fingers through it; everything he’d ever wanted to do. It was so desperate and intense, he barely had time to breathe in between each lap of Jisung’s lips.

“Shit, I—” Jisung said, pulling his head backwards, making Minho whimper at the loss of contact. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’m— I’ve been drinking, and so have you. This is… _Fuck_.”

“Jisung, don’t stop.” Minho whispered, immediately trying to grasp on to his neck and pull him back closer.

“Maybe I shouldn’t have come here. I thought we could… We could talk it all through and be civil again but… I don’t know if I’m going to be able to get over these feelings I have for you. God, look at me.” He pulled back and raked his hands through his hair, re-wetting his plumped lips with a swipe of his tongue. “I should go.”

“Please, don’t leave Jisung.” Minho said, staring him down with such a desperate hunger he could hear his heart beating in his ears. 

“W-what?”

“Stay with me.”

“Minho…”

“I’ve just… I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too but—”

“—I know you weren’t even _mine_ to miss but, I really, really have hated us not being able to see each other. I’m so sorry.” He grabbed his face again, drawing him back in and kissing him relentlessly, pressing their lips tightly together a few more times before continuing. “I miss having you in my life. This last month has been horrific. Please, stay with me just a little longer.” He whimpered.

“Wow… This—This is a totally different side of you, Minho.” Jisung joked, pressing their foreheads together as he closed his eyes, a little exasperated sigh escaping his mouth.

“You’re not gonna make me beg, are you?” Minho groaned, pulling backwards. “I’m embarrassed enough of how badly I need you; I have to draw the line at physical begging...”

“I won’t.” He chuckled. “I just… I need you to promise me. Promise me, that this is for real now. I need the truth; I need you to tell me that this is worth something to you and what happened before won’t happen again. I can’t just be your _friend_ , or your _neighbour_ or whatever, Minho. It’s too hard.”

“I promise, Jisung. Besides, do ‘ _just neighbours’_ kiss the way we just did?” He said, gesturing his eyes downwards to where Jisung was tightly gripping either side of his thighs, still firmly positioned in between his knees...

“I mean, _really_ good neighbours?” He scoffed, causing Minho to tumble back forward to meet their foreheads together again as he laughed.

“You’re a mess, Jisung.”

“And you’re uptight, Minho.”

“Well, if I were uptight...” He said, proudly with a smirk. “Would I do this?” He wound his legs tightly around the back of Jisung’s, drawing him in as close as he physically could until their hips pressed together over the edge of the counter, frantically capturing his lips between his own again.

He pulled Jisung further down by the collar of his shirt until he was practically laying down. He could feel the sugar granules from the knocked-over cannister sticking to his neck and back, and it didn't even cross his mind _once_ to clean it up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is SO long i'm really sorry i put you through that sheer length, but MY GOD I NEED TO LET THEM HAVE THEIR MOMENT I'M SORRY
> 
> https://twitter.com/YfwbbS <3


	21. A Fire Sparkling In A Lover's Eyes

**Sunday, 12:48pm** **🐿️---**

**The boys!**

Me, .Chris.  🐺, Hyunjinnie  🦙

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

HAN JISUNG

!!!!!!

Yes? What?

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

YOU LITTLE

What are you talking about?

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

channie said you snuck out Friday night?!

Well yeah, I kinda wanted to apologise to Minho.

Mostly for the embarrassing actions of my /extremely intoxicated/ best friend.

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

So, you spoke to him?!

Yeah…?

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

well?!?!?!

i’m---?

why have you only just mentioned this?!

Well, we had a lot to talk about, obviously.

I think we’re good.

Maybe, better than good, actually…

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

better than good?!

 **.Chris.  ** **🐺 :**

That’s awesome, Jisung! I’m glad you sorted it out.

You were gone for ages. Thought you might have passed out on the way back or something. x

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

wait

what

how long

 **.Chris.  ** **🐺 :**

Probably hours? I fell asleep waiting up cause you’d been gone so long! I woke up to Felix literally curled up next to my side like a cat... x

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

interesting

VERY

INTERESTING

Don’t make a big deal out of this, Hyunjin..

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

oh my god

YOU

DIDN’T?

OR DID YOU?

I plead the fifth…

 **.Chris.  ** **🐺 :**

Wait…

No way…!

Nothing happened…

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

you’re lying!!!!!

Yeah.

Actually, I am lying.

 **.Chris.  ** **🐺 :**

Oh my! x

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

I WANT DETAILS

 **.Chris.  ** **🐺 :**

I don’t…?!?! x

I’m not going to talk about anything!

All I know is, we made up!

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

YOU CERTAINLY DID

 **.Chris.  ** **🐺 :**

Wow Jisung, that is so

Omg x

I don’t know what happened, it’s just

I really like him, a lot.

Way more than I had even realised.

I actually just went round just to try and figure things out between us!

I wasn’t really expecting anything to happen.

Hyunjinnie  🦙:

oh this is WONDERFUL

😈

i’m usually the one being judged

i can’t believe my drunken antics spurred on this entire thing

i kinda saved your relationship, huh?

accepting cash payments 😁

We’re not in a relationship!

We’re going to take things slow for now.

Well, as ‘slow’ as we can, considering the other night…

Yeah.

I don’t really want a repeat of last time.

Plus, his kids have been through enough.

**Friday, 6:27pm** **🐱---**

Minho heard the subtle click of the door handle turning, then a miniature stampede making its way through the front door. He casually perked his head up from the settee to glance across to the hallway at the commotion, barely getting five minutes to breathe since he got home.

Jisung waltzed in, wrapped up in a khaki bomber jacket and black cap. After him; all three boys with their school bags and handfuls of extra shopping bags causing a total ruckus; slinging their shoes off and dropping their various things to the floor. Seungmin was wearing a large t-shirt over his school shirt and Jeongin seemed to have some additional fluffy, white dog-looking plushie thing; as if he didn’t have enough, already…

“Hey boys! Wow, what’s in the bags?” Minho asked.

“Mr. Jisung bought me an Artic Fox! It’s like a regular fox but it’s like a snow one so it’s white and the bottom of its paws are blue!” Jeongin said, demonstrating said blue paws by holding it above his head with both hands. Jisung smiled down at him, peeling his jacket off from over his shoulders to hang it on the hook beside the door.

“Just keep it away from Felix, Jeongin, otherwise it’ll end up covered in paint, or icing, or both.” Jisung teased, causing the freckled boy to puff his cheeks up and ball his little fists against Jisung’s side.

“Thank you for picking the boys up Jisung. Hopefully, they behaved themselves enough to deserve these treats?” Minho teased, looking between his two, both Seungmin and Jeongin frantically nodding with smiles plastered across their faces.

“Minho! Look!” Felix shouted, suddenly dropping to his knees, and seizing some pastel-pink fluffy fabric out of a larger white, paper bag. “Me and Jeongie got matching pyjamas for tonight’s sleepover!”

Minho really wanted to roll his eyes, but he couldn’t deny just how cute the concept of Felix and Jeongin in matching animal onesies actually would be in reality. He really was going soft…

“Felix, how was school today?” Minho asked inquisitively, finally rising from the couch.

“We talked about me going to another class, maybe next term!” Felix said, smiling brightly at him, running over to give him a hug, launching himself at Minho’s thighs.

“That’s amazing!” Minho said, glancing over at Jisung. He could see the younger man mouth _‘thank you’_ to him from across the way, shooting him a wink. Felix unwrapped himself from Minho’s legs and shifted across to Jeongin. He grabbed at his hands, shaking them up and down, rattling him backwards and forwards.

“I will get to be with my best friend!” He screeched, both of them jumping in unison.

“That’s great news, Felix.” Minho said. “Why don’t you three head upstairs and get out of your uniforms whilst I start dinner, huh?”

“Okay Dad!” Jeongin replied, smiling so brightly it made Minho’s heart flutter.

Felix really had brought Jeongin out of his shell, it was great to see him so passionate about having a sleepover, rather than fearful like he used to be. All three of them waltzed out after each other, Seungmin last, trailing behind to herd them upstairs with a little eyeroll…

 **6:35pm** **🐿️---**

“What’re you cooking? Smells amazing.” Jisung said, following Minho through to the kitchenette, perching just inside of the door.

He was quite fond of this particular kitchen.

“Well, nothing yet, that’s just the broth. I haven’t even gotten changed myself yet. I only got in about five minutes before you did.” Minho said, scoffing, turning the tap on to wash his hands.

“Well, I like the white shirt, get-up. It’s _sophisticated._ ” Jisung said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

He’d seen Minho in a loosened shirt and slacked-off tie a million times by now, but it felt different now that they were together.

He considered it was because it was now _totally acceptable_ for him to appreciate how amazing he looked without feeling like a total weirdo ogling him from across the road.

Minho turned back to him, flicking his wet fingers in Jisung’s direction, spattering tap water over his face.

“By the way, you seriously didn’t have to get the boys anything, picking them up was enough, Jisung.”

“Well, Felix wanted to get some new books to decorate for when he moves class, anyway. Which I guess, I have to thank _you_ for?” He questioned tantalisingly, looking at him with a little smirk.

“Well, I did say I could help.” Minho grinned at him back, nodding his head.

“How did you manage it?” Jisung questioned.

“Well, you know Ms. Park?”

“The neighbour that drinks too much pinot grigio and shamelessly undresses me with her eyes constantly?”

“That’s the one!” Minho said, snapping his fingers. “Well, her husband is the Principle of that school.”

Jisung launched his body back with a surprising amount of vigour considering he’d been working all day, his eyes widening to the size of the sun.

“What?! _She’_ s married?! H-how?!” He stammered, in total shock.

“Kind of… It’s, uh—It’s not a _totally_ monogamous thing...” Minho slurred, awkwardly rubbing at his neck. “Anyway, I- I won’t go into details… Trust me you really don’t want to know.”

Jisung just stood there, totally astounded.

“Wow… Well, I guess… Thanks?” Jisung said, trailing off.

Minho laughed at his expression, turning back to lean down into the refrigerator and grab some spring onions from the lower shelf.

Jisung followed him with his eyes, hovering against the doorframe, watching the older man as he finessed his way around his kitchen.

He seriously couldn’t get enough of him; it almost felt kind of pathetic.

"Stop staring at me.” Minho suddenly said, shifting his focus from the spring onions he was lying out on the chopping board, to the window.

Jisung could tell Minho could see him observing him in the reflection of the glass, as it was pretty dark outside.

“I’m not?”

“Yes, you are. I can feel your eyes burning a hole into the back of my head.” Minho chuckled. “I thought we were trying to be _on the low-down_?”

“Firstly, I wasn’t looking at the back of your head. Secondly, I said ‘ _low key’_ not on ‘ _the low-down’,_ old man…” Jisung teased, meandering over him, his voice dripping with self-confidence. “Lastly, no one can see us anyway…”

He looked back towards the door to confirm none of the boys were around, positioning himself behind him, slipping his arms around the older man’s waist.

He could smell Minho’s vanilla scent as he leant his nose against his warm neck.

He’d envisioned it to be _totally cute_ in his own mind, but Jisung was the shorter of the two, so he found himself awkwardly having to get up on his tip toes to lean over his shoulder.

“ _The onions_ can see us, Jisung.” Minho whispered in feigned horror.

“Oh no. I don’t want the onions to hear me talk about how amazing you are.”

“God, you’re…” Minho said, shaking his head in disgust, but not _totally_ managing to hide the slight upturn of the edge of his lips as he tried to hold in his smile.

“So _romantic_ , I know…”

“I was going to say _grotesque_ , but each to their own.” Minho retorted.

"Oh, shut up, you." Jisung scoffed, reaching over his shoulder again, closer to his face this time, to plant a quick kiss to Minho’s left cheek.

Minho pulled back, twisting himself around, a little comedic appalled look on his face.

“Did you just tell an elder to _shut up_?” He scoffed. Minho's own hands moved to Jisung's sleeveless arms, latching on to his biceps. “And why the heck are you wearing this? It’s freezing outside?”

He gave them a firm squeeze before opening his palms out flat to run them slowly down the entirety of Jisung's arms, sending a slight shiver down his back.

He settled them when he came to Jisung’s hands, loosely linking their fingertips.

"Because I know you like it?" Jisung fearlessly said, gripping at his hands a little tighter and leaning back in towards his lips.

“Hmm, you’re not totally wrong…” Minho said, his voice low enough that Jisung felt like he was suddenly about to be seduced.

Not that it would particularly take a lot of effort, on Minho’s part, Jisung thought.

They both leaned in, tantalisingly slow, parting their lips slowly to meet one another’s’.

"Daddy! Daddy there's a bird!" Jeongin suddenly _shrieked_ from upstairs in a panic.

"Oh God..." He muttered. "A bird?" Minho shouted back.

"Dori got a bird Daddy! Help it's going to get hurted!" He heard the young boy sob from upstairs and a chorus of Felix’s panicked screams echoed throughout the house.

Minho pulled away from Jisung and darted upstairs leaving him standing there, making kissy-faces at the air.

He moped there for a few seconds until he realised, he should probably tag along, at least to ensure that Felix wouldn’t collect any of the feathers afterwards… 

As they both flew into Seungmin’s bedroom upstairs, Jeongin and Felix were standing in their newly matching little light-blue and light-pink animal onesies, backed into the corner against the wall.

Seungmin had his white, silk pyjama set on, wielding a plastic Nimbus 3000 in both hands to defend himself with terror in his eyes.

There was a sizeable pigeon flapping around near the desk next to his window, and a less-than-guilty looking cat chasing it around, slinking close to the ground. 

"What the-! Stop, hey, stop it!" Minho hissed at the younger cat. "Hey, stop it, come on. Jisung grab Dori, I've got the bird."

"What?! Just like, grab her?!" Jisung said, flapping his own hands around more than the bird was.

"She's a house cat, Jisung, not a puma!"

Minho and Jisung raked the two apart, Minho grabbing the bird in both hands and rushing downstairs to the front door to let it free.

“Be careful!” Felix shouted, “Don’t hurt the birdie!”

Minho had to sit there for the next _hour_ and explain to Jeongin and Felix why Dori was mean to the pigeon.

Sugar-coating the nature of the food chain was pretty difficult for a 7 and 8-year-old to comprehend.

Especially when Felix held birds in such high regard; as apparently, they ‘ _delivered messages to magic folk_ ’ so they were _crucial_ to the day-to-day life of any witch or wizard.

They eventually settled down once Minho agreed to let him sleep in the _'big bed'_ , or, his own bed.

Jisung watched as Minho perched next to the pillow besides Jeongin, gently raking his fingers through the youngest' hair.

Minho didn't even try to pry Jeongin's thumb out of his mouth, he looked too peaceful.

He pecked him on top of the head, before moving across to tuck Felix in, who was sleeping wrapped tightly around Foximus like a little koala.

“Wow, Felix sleeping at 9:00pm. I’m shocked.” Jisung whispered.

“Maybe you just need to assert yourself better.” Minho mocked. “Well, I'd offer to have you stay over, but unfortunately my bed is otherwise preoccupied.” Minho laughed, just quietly enough to not rouse the boys. “Plus, I don't know if the boys would be ready for the full news, just yet. Especially so soon after what happened before."

 **Wednesday, 8:17pm** **🐱---**

Minho waited patiently for the rice cooker to _ping_ , telling him his food was finally ready. He’d cooked dinner earlier for the boys when Felix was round after school, but there were only so many kids’ meals he could eat before he craved a different kind of cuisine. It was becoming a bit of routine to cook for the three boys and cook for himself later in the night before the boys went to bed.

He perched against the kitchen island, watching Seungmin reading his tablet at the table. He was writing down little notes against a notebook off to the right, likely to help him remember some of the English words and phrases he’d learnt. Suddenly, the young boy sighed, placing the tablet down and looking directly to Minho.

"Dad. Why did you kiss Mr. Jisung earlier?” Seungmin asked.

“What?!” Minho said, shoving his hands up defensively. 

"When you took Felix home, you kissed Mr. Jisung on the mouth.” He slumped backwards, folding his arms across the table. “Don't try and lie about it, Dad, I saw it out of the window..."

"Seung... Look, it's— It’s…" He hesitated, suddenly feeling like he was about to be royally scolded by his _literal 9-year-old_. Seungmin looked up to him from over the table, pulling his little round spectacles down the bridge of his nose to glance over the top of them.

"I’m not mad, I’m just… _Disappointed_ , Dad. You said we don’t keep secrets anymore." He shook his head, tutting, before he pushed his glasses back up, looking back down to continue reading his Kindle. "I saw you do a kiss the other day too… I don't know why you did a kiss to each other on the kitchen counter though, because you said we weren't allowed on the counter because we make food there."

Minho's eyes suddenly expanded in horror, not knowing to what Seungmin had seen, or at least, to what extent...

"Dad..." He sighed. "I'm not Jeongin. I'm nearly ten now so I know what kissing on the mouth means.” Seungmin said, with total confidence, rolling his head back and sighing at him like the little adult he was. “It means, you're in a romantical relationship with him now, like you were with…”

"Seungmin..." Minho started, before stopping; he literally couldn't really find anything tangible to say... He watched as Seungmin locked his fingers together before resting his chin over top, exhaling again. 

“Dad. Tell me honestly... Have you told Changbin?"

"What!?" Minho shouted, taking a startled step forward. "No, I-! No I have not Seungie. Plus, it's none of his business now. We decided to split up Seungmin, isn't that what you wanted?"

"Well yes, I'm glad you listened to me when I said that you and Dad shouldn't get back together. But please, Dad, I don’t want to lose Mr. Jisung too. He’s really nice to me.”

“You won’t, Seungie. Jisung and I are… We like each other v _ery much_ and enjoy spending time together.” Minho reasoned. “Nothing bad is going to happen, okay?”

“It’s just that everyone you kiss on the mouth ends up leaving...” He said, rolling his eyes in utter disgust. “Maybe you are bad at kissing.”

“I—...”

"Well, if you want to make Mr. Jisung our new Dad, that’s okay with me. He’s really nice to me, unlike Chang—"

"No! That’s’—I just wanted to make sure you that you knew we will be spending a bit more time together these days again, that's all!” Minho slipped down into the kitchen stool at the other side of the island, gripping at Seungmin’s hand across the table. “Seungie, trust me, we're _not_ replacing your Dad..."

"Why are we replacing Dad...?" Jeongin’s little voice rang out, startling them both a little. He ducked his head in the door, appearing from the hallway. "I don't want to replace Dad..."

"Because Jeongin, Dad is going to marry Mr. Jisung instead, now. It's obvious! They're kissing on the when they think we don’t see and also Felix keeps staying over more now." Seungmin quipped, looking at Jeongin a little teasingly.

"But why? Why is Daddy going to marry Mr. Jisung?" Jeongin asked, totally confused.

"Because that's what grown-up adults do, Jeongin… You're so stupid." Seungmin said, tutting at him. The sudden, needless insult suddenly snapped Minho back to reality. Jeongin looked up at his older brother, a pout starting to form.

"No, I'm not...!" He whined.

"Mr. Jisung can move in, then me and Felix will be able to speak English all the time with each other. Plus, my singing will be so good that Mr. Jisung will say I’m the best kid that he knows!"

“Seungmin, stop being pig-headed. You’re starting sound like your Father.” Minho warned, shaking his head from side-to-side.

“No one is the best, we’re all good at different things…” Jeongin said quietly, gripping his hands together in front of his lap to curl them into a nervous ball.

"Yeah, and Jeongin is good at being a baby. Maybe, Dad and Mr. Han want to replace you with Felix or have another little boy that's better than you are, Jeongin!" Seungmin suddenly said, totally unprovoked.

" _Seungmin!?"_ Minho suddenly jumped out of his chair, mouth hanging open. "What on Earth--!" He looked back to Jeongin; whose eyes had started sparkling at the inner corners, his lower eyelids creasing up as he held in his tears. He had pulled his lower lip up over his top one, which was now trembling, fit to burst.

"Oh, Jeongin! We're not replacing anyone! No one is replacing your Dad or you! Come here!" Minho extended his arms out to him and made his way across to the door to try and reach him, but Jeongin turned around and ran off back up the stairs.

"I don't want to replace Dad… And I don't want another little boy either!" Jeongin screamed, bursting in to tears at the end of his sentence as he ran.

"Jeongin!" Minho ran in to the hall after him, hand on the stair railing, shouting up after him frantically until he was nearly out of breath. Then he turned back to Seungmin, looking back through the kitchen door with a face of fury.

"What on _Earth_ is the matter with you?! Look what you've done!"

"It's not my fault he is a stupid crybaby..." Seungmin clapped back at him, not looking back to meet Minho’s eyes. Instead, he nonchalantly peered at his tablet, writing something down in the little notepad again.

"Seungmin! Go to your room, now!"

"I didn't do anything…!" Seungmin shouted back, defensively, finally glancing across to see how irate Minho actually was.

"I mean it, Seungmin!" He warned, crossing his arms across his chest.

"Maybe Jeongin and Felix should just swap! Or maybe Jeongin should go and live with Dad anyway then he'd stop being so annoying all the time and everyone would be happier, especially Dad!" He screamed, slamming his tablet down against the table.

"I said _go to your room!_ Don't you _dare_ make me ask you again!" Minho screamed at him, his face crimson with anger. He watched as Seungmin looked at him with furrowed brows, lips screwed tightly together. He abruptly shoved his chair backwards with the back of his legs, scraping the chair poles against the tiles before running out of the door past him, thumping up the stairs. He heard the sound of a door slam, then it was totally quiet.

 **8:42pm** **🐱---**

"Seungie? You need to talk to me.” Minho said, edging into his room quietly as not to disturb Jeongin, who had immediately thrown himself in to bed; the wave of emotions he was displaying tiring him out quickly.

"Just go away. I want to be on my own." Seungmin snapped back from his bed, his blue, cashmere blanket thrown over his head.

"Seung. I'm sorry for shouting at you earlier, but what you said to Jeongin was not acceptable and whoever that was, was not my wonderful, polite, little man."

Minho walked across to perch on the side of his bed like normal, attempting to pull back the blanket. The movement caused Seungmin’s hair to stick to the fuzzy material with static. The younger boy abruptly yanked it from his hand, immediately wrapping it over his head again in one swoop.

"Well, I don't care about being wonderful or polite or whatever! Just leave me alone! I want to practice my English.”

"Seung... You can study whenever you want to, no one is going to stop you, but I need you to talk to me. What's going on with you?" He said, a little calmer this time. He pulled the blanket back one more time to see how broken up Seungmin really looked.

He peered at Minho, staring into his eyes deeply with a look that was brimming with resentment. His eyes were puffy like he’d been crying this whole time since the argument. After a while, his enraged facade buckled, and he saw the young boy swallow dryly.

"I don't get it Dad! I don't get it!" He suddenly shouted, his words hitching.

"What? What don't you get?"

"Why does nobody like me?!” He said, pushing himself backwards in to the bed until his back met the wall.

What are you talking about Seung?!” Minho retorted, totally perplexed. “Everyone likes you!”

“Everyone likes Jeongin more than me...”

"Seungie, that is absolutely ridiculous.”

“Especially, Dad.”

“He does not like Jeongin more than you Seung, you're both his boys." He reasoned, still fairly bewildered that Seungmin would even _think up_ such a ridiculous sentiment.

"So, why does he always videocall with Jeongin and not me? Why does he always get excited to see Jeongin, but not me? Why does he always play with Jeongin, and not me?!" His voice cracked as the tears started seeping down his puffy little cheeks, again.

"Well, you've not exactly been trying to show him that you want to spend more time with him by ignoring him Seung!" Minho rationalized.

"When will Dad will think that I'm not the boring kid anymore?! I'm dressing much cooler! I'm listening to cooler bands! I don't get it! No one noticed me before and people still don't care! Dad just thinks I'm boring and that all I care about is schoolwork and that I don't have any cool friends. He is embarrassed of me apart from when I am playing baseball! He only likes me when I play baseball because then he can brag about how good I am to the other Dads and it makes me—it makes me feel really bad!" He shouted, finally letting go of his anger, before panting heavily, slumping down against the wall, totally breathless.

Minho suddenly felt like crying. He'd never seen Seungmin act like this and it broke his heart to hear that these kinds of negative thoughts even entered his tiny little conscience. It went quiet between them, Minho giving him some time to breathe and calm himself back down. 

"Is that why you don’t want to play baseball anymore, Seung?” Minho scooted backwards on the bed too, over closer to him. “Look. Your Father is absolutely not embarrassed of you; we're both very proud of how well you do at school." He looked at him again, moving his slightly static bangs off of his forehead to cup his cheek.

“Really?” He sniffled, rubbing his eye with his shirt sleeve. “It doesn’t feel like it…”

"If you're upset, you should talk to your Dad, instead of ignoring him. Or, do you want _me_ tell him that you've been feeling a bit left out?" Minho said, leaning inwards to wrap his arm around his shoulder, slipping it between him and the wall to cuddle up beside him.

“No… He’ll think I’m being a stupid baby...” He sniffed.

“Seung, telling someone that they have upset you does not make you a baby. Everyone gets upset. Heck, even your Dad gets upset, you know…” He looked at him, and then his eyes darted back down to his hands. He nodded, looking a little embarrassed at the sudden attention. "Okay, let's make sure that this gets sorted out, okay? How about we see if Dad can come and watch the talent show finals, huh? I’m sure he’d love to see you perform?”

Seungmin sniffled a little, rubbing his nose against his wrist and nodding, a tiny smile prodding at his lips; the first smile of the night. He nodded, and Minho was sure he heard him mutter a little _‘okay’_ before relaxing back against Minho’s warm embrace.

“You really upset Jeongin today. What you said, it wasn't nice." Minho said coolly, looking back to him. Seungmin held his head low in a guilty little slump. "I don't want to see that again. He is your little brother, your _only_ little brother. You should look after him."

“What about Felix? He will be my little brother when you and Mr. Jisung get married.” He said.

“Seung… Me and Jisung are not getting married…” He sighed, rolling his eyes, making Seungmin giggle a little. “I mean it, make sure you apologise to Jeongin in the morning, okay?”

"I will. I’m sorry, Dad.”

They cuddled up for a little while longer, until Minho could feel the dull ache of Seungmin falling asleep on his shoulder, his weight giving him pins and needles in his right hand. He shifted him backwards so that his head was gently resting on the pillow and pulled another blanket over top of him. It made the young boy stir, but he quickly re-adjusted, snuggling further in to the warm bliss of his bed.

He walked across the hall to his own room, immediately changing in to his pyjama set and throwing Jisung’s blue dressing gown over his shoulders for extra warmth; it had been getting pretty chilly at night. He couldn’t wait for the future when Jisung would be able to stay over in the same bed as him.

He slipped under his own comforter, flicking at his remote to see what terrible television show he could watch for an hour or so. He leaned over, checking that his phone was plugged in and charging, to see a quick message from Jisung.

_ 22:12: _ **Jisung** **💕**

Thanks for feeding my little scrounger again, as per usual.

Next night out is on me, promise.

See you tomorrow, hope you sleep well!

Dream of me! 😊xxxx

Minho hovered over it, trying to think of some kind of witty or cynical retort, maybe something about how ‘ _dreaming about Jisung would be more of a nightmare, than a dream’_ … But he didn’t have the energy tonight. He was feeling slightly fragile after having _two_ children crying their eyes out in the same evening. So, he simply unlocked his phone, and typed a quick message back.

_ 13:38: _ **Me**

No problem, the more the merrier!

Thank you, sleep well too.

I always do 🙂 xxxx

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> have a long-ass fluffy chapter i guess!
> 
> lowkey i think changbin being confirmed for SMTM is a sign that i need to upload my changbin central spin off after this lmao 
> 
> https://twitter.com/YfwbbS <3


	22. See The Minutes, How They Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> tw/ family arguments, slight violence

**Thursday, 4:30am 🐱** \---

He heard a loud pounding, constantly, over and over and over _, bang, bang._ He looked over to where Jisung was chopping wood, totally shirtless, a thin sheen of sweat covering his entire face and neck, all the way down to his abdomen. His honey skin illuminated by the early morning, weekend sun. He pushed his sweaty bangs back off of his face with one hand, swinging the axe lethargically across his other shoulder to rest it behind his neck with a smirk on his face. He glanced across to Minho's side, smouldering passion in his eyes.

"Minho! Minho!" He called out… He sounded frantic, like he was ready to _consume_ him; his words dripping with desire. Minho could only imagine how great it would feel, those calloused hands gripping him by the front of the shirt and smashing their lips together. He could hear Jisung calling out to him louder, and _louder_ , across the clearing from his veranda, he looked ethereal, rushing over to Minho in slow-motion... _Literal slow motion?_

His phone started ringing, the high-pitched, tinny iPhone alarm waking him up immediately in a total stupor. He panicked and smacked his hand against his bed-side table to retrieve the phone in his clammy hand to silence it. He swiped across the screen, burning his retinas as he squinted to look at who was calling. It was Jisung's name on the caller ID. He unlocked the call, internally pissed off that his clammy, lumberjack fantasy was but a _mere dream_.

 _Maybe another time,_ he thought...

"... Jisung, H-hello?" He groaned, rubbing at his eyes at the intrusion of the light shining in through a gap in his curtains. “It’s so early—”

"Open the door! Now!" Jisung yelled down the phone, before abruptly ending the call. When Minho put the phone down, he could hear Jisung banging at the door from downstairs.

Minho grabbed his blue robe that actually belonged to Jisung, and slung it over him, quickly sliding on his slippers, too. He bounded down the stairs to where Jisung was still knocking, over and over, binding the robe fastening around his waist as he did.

Strangely, he found his house key was already in the keyhole, even though he insisted on making sure it was hung up on the hook every night when he locked up. He clutched at it, fumbling to unlock it in sheer panic, his sleep-deprived brain failing to manage to open it for a good twenty seconds. Then he realised, the door must've been left open all night. As soon as he managed to get it open, Jisung barged in past him, shunting him backwards.

"Is Felix here?!" He said, immediately swinging through into the living room by the openings’ door frame, desperately scanning over the room with his eyes.

"What? No, why would he be—"

"Felix!" Jisung screamed out, running out of the living room to hover at the banister, shouting up the stairs. Minho looked at his phone screen.

"Jisung, it's 4:30am!? What the hell are you doing?!”

"Felix isn't at home."

"What?"

"Felix isn't at home, Minho!” He said, turning back to him, raking his hands through his hair. “I had this weird feeling in my gut that woke me up, so I went to check on him and he was gone. Is he here?!"

Minho looked at the absolute fear in Jisung's eyes, the way his voice shook desperately as he spoke. He was totally startled; this definitely wasn’t some kind of sick joke. A sudden realisation swept over him; Jeongin hadn't stirred once in the night, nor had he wanted to get in Minho's bed like usual or wanted to go to the bathroom. On top of that, he and Seungmin had argued last night, Jeongin deciding to go straight to bed, afterwards.

"Oh my G—"

Minho suddenly sprinted back up the stairs, Jisung hurtling up after him, thudding up the steps. He noticed a sleepy, dishevelled Seungmin poking his head out of his bedroom door in confusion, ducking just behind it at the sound of all the commotion.

"What's going on?" He said sleepily, noticing the panic between the two older men. “Dad? Mr. Jisung?”

“It’s nothing Seungmin, you should get yourself to bed, you have school in a few hours, Kiddo.” Jisung said apologetically, immediately heading over to him and turning him around to edge him back into his room. He must not have realised in his panicked state that he would have obviously woken Seungmin up with his incessant screaming.

"Jeongie?" Minho said, quietly at first. He knocked on his door, then he called, once, then twice. He shoved the door handle down and barged into the little blue room, his eyes flittering across to Jeongin's bed in the corner, covered in Legos and various other plushies. He made his way across, pulling back the comforter and the blankets, to find nothing but fox toys crammed together in a little pile.

"Jeongin?!" He shouted, again. "The front door Jisung, it was open..." He said, turning back to him, his eyes wide open in realisation.

"So was mine. They must've run away." Jisung said.

"Oh my… God." He stuttered, quickly peering his head into the bathroom, and his room, too, just in case before double checking Jeongin’s room again. He dropped to his knees, checking under the bed, then checked the closet, then _inside of_ his toy-box. Stupid places, where he knew he wouldn’t be, but he was holding on to hope that he wouldn’t do something like this.

Minho suddenly felt sick, his stomach knotting inside of him. He could see the dread building behind Jisung’s eyes, too. He swallowed hard, trying not to make Jisung feel any more anxious than he clearly already was.

"I mean, let’s not try to panic.” He said, gripping both of Jisung’s hands in his own. “If it's both of them, they can't have gotten far, right? When did Felix go to sleep?" Minho enquired, trying to unscramble his thoughts. "Jeongin settled at about 8:30?"

"I sent him up at 9:30pm... He probably played on his games console for a bit, so maybe 10ish, or just after I texted you goodnight?" Jisung said, his voice unnervingly quiet, and his lip quivering.

10:00pm, and by now it was 4:30am. Which means they could have been gone for over _six_ hours already, though there was no way to tell.

"Okay well, call the Police, I need to call Changbin; maybe he's said something about it to him, they speak all the time. We’ll contact the school as soon as it opens too. Where else could they be?!” Minho said, but all he got in response was a shaken, breathless Jisung, his mouth agape as he stared at the floor hopelessly. Minho grabbed him by either side of the face, pulling his attention back to him. “Jisung. Listen to me. _Where else could they be?”_ He said sternly, trying to bring him back to reality.

“I guess… Felix and Jeongin have a toy store they like, or maybe the park _… I don’t_ … I don’t know...”

“Listen, whilst Seungmin is here I can’t go out and look for them. I’m going to have to explain to him what’s happened. Circle the neighbourhood, okay? They can’t have gone far.”

Minho tried to re-assure him as best he could, but the idea of his precious boy being outside in the dark for over six hours was making him feel so nauseous that he felt physically light-headed and the room had started spinning. This was the same child that cried when Minho told him the tooth fairy was going to come into his room at night.

“I’m-I’m going to call Felix’s Mom, too.” Jisung said, in total dread. “Just in case they’re there… Maybe she’ll answer.”

A blaze built up inside of Minho; this was the same woman who had bailed on her own son for months and now Jisung wanted to speak to her. His thoughts were so scrambled, it was totally not his place to comment, so he held back, pulling his phone out and searching for Changbin’s contact. 

**7:53am🐱---**

Changbin _launched_ his blazer to the floor near the door as soon as he entered Minho’s hallway, barging through as soon as Minho opened it. His hair damp and dishevelled and his white work shirt unbuttoned down his chest. He must’ve got Minho’s voicemail late, probably whilst he was getting ready for work.

"You— _Fucker_ , you utter fucker.” He growled through gritted teeth, looking across at Jisung, who was standing behind the couch. He threw his finger up at him accusatorily whilst marching towards him. “If I find out you had anything to do with this so help me God, I will fucking—” He suddenly lunged forward at Jisung, grabbing him by his shirt collar and hurtling him backwards against the wall, causing the younger man to yelp in shock.

"Changbin! Stop it! This isn't helping!” Minho shouted, swiftly launching himself at Changbin to try and get in between them to pull him away.

"Jeongin would _never_ do this, Minho! He would _never_ leave home! _Your_ kid’s a bad influence on him or something!" Changbin screamed at Jisung’s face; the younger man totally stunned with his hands held up next to his face pacifistically.

Changbin was someone who could utterly decimate someone just through verbal intimidation. He never truly had to resort to actual violence at any given time in the years that Minho had been with him. He was usually assertive enough with just words; most people opting not to test his patience.

This on the other hand, was the angriest Minho had _ever_ seen him.

"This isn't like Felix either! He wouldn't have..." Jisung tried to retort, Changbin simply squeezing tighter at the material around his neck to silence him.

"If _anything_ happens to my boy, so _help me God_ I will—" Changbin screamed in his face.

“—Bin you need to stop this, I’m serious! Seungmin's here, stop it!” Minho pleaded.

"Leave Mr. Jisung alone!" Seungmin screamed, appearing from the hallway, _bursting_ into tears with his mouth wide open. He rushed over to him, batting at Changbin's sides with his hands balled up into little fists. “Stop it! Stop it!”

"Look what you're doing to him!" Minho shouted, as he forced his way in between the two again, pushing Changbin backwards by the chest, making him tumble backwards in a total daze. He pulled Seungmin into his side, cradling his head in his arms as the young boy leaned into him and sobbed uncontrollably. His little legs gave out, so Minho slumped down to the floor with him.

"Why-- Why do you always -Do this?!" Seungmin stuttered through his tears, his voice in tatters as he stared at Changbin. “Why can’t you just… Stop being so… You!”

“ _It’s okay, it’s okay, it’s okay_.” Minho cooed to him, repeatedly rocking him gently in his arms whilst stroking the top of his head.

Changbin wiped at his mouth with the back of his palm, tears forming in his own eyes. He threw his hands on his hips and dropped his head backwards, grimacing, exhaling deeply in an attempt to try and maintain his composure in front of everyone. He stood there for a few moments, desperately trying to hold it together. Ultimately, he broke down, squatting down to the floor with his head in his hands as he started sobbing. 

"Seung... I— I’m so sorry. I didn’t… I didn’t mean to shout…" Changbin pleaded. He opened his arms out in a desperate attempt to try and summon him into his arms, although the helpless look on his face screamed that he wasn’t expecting any kind of warm welcome or gesture of forgiveness.

Minho saw Seungmin bob his head back up from his arms to look at his Dad; it was probably the first time he’d ever cried in front of him; his hyper-masculine persona seemingly crumbling in front of his eyes. Seungmin gazed at him, trying to compose himself too, before breaking again at the sight of his Dad crying. Minho could tell that he didn’t have it in him to be angry, or sarcastic, or act like a ‘grown up’ like he usually did. He was a little boy; a little boy that needed comfort from his Dad when he was hurting.

"I-I…” Seungmin shouted. “I want my brother back! It's all my fault! I told him to go and live somewhere else! It's because of me that he's gone, a-and he's taken Felix, too! It's all my fault!" He wailed, tears streaming down his face. "I was mean and now he hates me! _Everyone_ hates me!”

Changbin grasped his hand, dragging him closer, pulling him in to his chest, wrapping his arms so tightly around him that Minho could see his hands turning pale. They were both shaking so violently the floor was nearly vibrating. Seungmin threw his hands around him too, desperately clutching at his back with his tiny fingers, pressing them deeply in to his skin.

“It’s my fault, Dad! I’m sorry!” he sobbed into his shoulder.

"It's not your fault, Seung. Don't you _ever_ say that." Changbin wept, wrapping his hand around the back of Seungmin's head at the top of his nape, pulling his face to his shoulder.

“It’s true! It’s all my fault and now everyone is upset because of me!”

“Seungmin, people do silly things sometimes, okay? They can do _stupid, stupid_ things and they say things that they don’t mean when they’re upset.” He reasoned, pulling him backwards to look at his face cupped in both hands as the young boy sniffled in between his palms.

“I… I shouted at him.” He stammered.

“Yes, and that was wrong, but we all make mistakes, but we can’t always be perfect all the time. Now we have to fix it, okay?” He said, pulling him back against his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a while, both crying into each other’s arms. Minho felt himself choking up too, it was all becoming too much for him. He looked across to Jisung, who seemed startled, but ultimately unharmed, nodding at him to show that he was okay after the outburst. He could tell that Changbin was as emotionally sensitive as they were right now, and Jisung wasn’t the type to hold a grudge, anyway.

"We've checked near the school, the park with the baseball cage, and anywhere Felix and Jeongin could have walked in this neighbourhood. The Police know and they're looking right now as we speak. Jisung is going to keep looking in the car; he’s been looking all morning. I'm staying here with Seung and waiting for the updates." Minho said, as calmly as he could. “We’ve let the school know why Seung’s not going to be in and a few of the other parents are keeping an eye out, too.” Minho tried to reel off as much information as he could, trying to settle the atmosphere and bring it back to the point at hand.

Changbin nodded solemnly, resting his forehead against Seungmin’s for a little while longer as he held him in his arms.

“I want to help look for them.” Seungmin suddenly said, rising his head up and rubbing his hand across his face. “Can Dad take me in his car?” Seungmin asked, looking over to Minho for approval. “If we all look, we will find them quicker.”

“Seung, you’ve been through enough, I don’t want you getting more upset—”

“I want to help, Dad. You said it before, I am the big brother in this house, and I want to help find my little brother now... My little _brothers_.” He corrected, looking over at Jisung, who Minho watched physically have to pull back his own lip in fear of crying, too. Changbin looked down and bit the inside of his cheek anxiously, seemingly trying to ignore the connotations.

“O-okay, let’s all look, then.” Minho agreed, swallowing dryly. “Eight eyes are better than four, I guess.”

“Come on, let’s get in the car, Seung. Take the keys.” Changbin said, reaching into his pocket and handing the fob across to him. He gripped them in his cupped hands, and looked across to Minho, who nodded in affirmation, a poorly hidden grief-stricken expression on his face. Seungmin wandered out of the door, looking back at all three of the older men timidly, a little fear in his eyes for what might happen between them when he left. He slipped out of the door with a little _click_ , pulling the door closed.

“Bin… Thank you, he’s been feeling really—” Minho started.

“Don’t call me that. _Ever._ ” He snarled back, straightening his shirt out and wiping at his nose with the back of his wrist. His words cut through Minho like daggers, and he found himself biting the back of his lip as he realised what he’d said. “And don’t talk to me about my own son. I know how he’s been feeling.”

“I’m sorry, I mean, Changbin. I know you’re upset; we all are. Let’s just, focus on finding the boys now, okay? I really don’t want to argue with you—” Minho said, barely able to keep eye contact with him.

“What, you think I want to focus on you, huh? My boy’s _missing_ and you think I give a shit about you and your pathetic boyfriend over there? Get a grip, Minho. Not everything is about _you_ all the time.” He spat back, letting out a dull laugh and shaking his head. He strode past him, grabbing his blazer from where he’d thrown it on the floor. “Now, are you going to look for my son, or not?”

Minho wanted to shout at the man as he stared into his heavily dilated pupils. He wanted to shout back and tell him to _never speak to him that way again_ , and scream at him; _how dare he lay a finger on Jisung?_ But the words didn’t come out how he intended; he simply couldn’t muster the courage.

He knew he was hurting, and he knew it was partially his fault.

“Look, you’re making this a lot harder than it needs to be. Please, just act mature for like, two seconds.” Minho said, calmly.

“How’s this for mature?” Changbin replied, yanking the newly-painted door open with _so much force_ it could’ve been pulled off its’ hinges. “Go fuck yourself.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you thought we were out of the woods!!!
> 
> we're getting closer to the endddd > i'm sad
> 
> https://twitter.com/YfwbbS 🤟


	23. For To Their Children, They Are Heaven's Lieutenants

**Thursday, 9:04am** **🐿️---**

The concept of being without Felix, was too much for Jisung to handle.

If anything happened to him, there was no way on this Earth he would be able to forgive himself.

He should have woken up sooner.

He should have checked on him sooner.

He wondered if he’d let the bullying go on too long; if Felix had run away for a reason.

He seemed so happy to finally be moving class and Jisung hadn’t suspected there was anything wrong with him; perhaps he simply wanted to be with Jeongin when he was upset.

Felix was known for being an empathetic kid with a sense of adventure bigger than his appetite so he’d often like to explore, but he was so sappy most of the time it was difficult for Jisung to believe he’d be away from home this long.

He panicked every time he thought about a stranger picking them up on the side of the street, or them falling down one of the railings near the little bridge, or them curled up in the freezing cold.

It hurt so badly he kept crying, over and over and nothing could stop it.

He gripped tightly on to the steering wheel, digging his fingernails in to the leather, trying to make out the road edges through his tears.

He’d already been around the park, the shopping mall with the toy store, the wooded ‘Forbidden Forest’ areas, all the little adventure spots that he and Felix would like to go together.

It started raining, a delicate early-morning shower that made everything feel more sombre than it already was. Little, shaky droplets slowly trickling down the window before being batted away by his wipers.

Everything looked grey and slightly misted, the clouds looking like billowing smoke wafts blocking any trace of the sun. It terrified him; it felt like a bad omen or something, like pathetic fallacy.

He circled the neighbouring areas a few more times, thinking of places they might be, but it seemed useless at this stage.

Everything was so busy at this time of day, all the school kids were making their way in to school, and all the working people were driving past, in a rush to get to their destination.

It was so busy that it was pretty difficult to manoeuvre around any of the places they might be.

He decided to travel back home for a rest stop, pulling back in to his and Minho’s cul-de-sac.

Minho was driving around too, waiting for the police update, and they’d reassured them that things like this don’t tend to hold out too long and most kids ended up coming home within the first day, which brought him some relief, at least.

If he knew Felix, he definitely wouldn’t travel outside of his comfort zone, so he doubted that he would have gone too far, anyway.

As he pulled back up, he saw Changbin’s red car parked up on the dropped curb next to Minho’s driveway; he’d obviously had the same idea.

He reversed his Volkswagen back into his own driveway, he could see Changbin in the rear-view mirror, not even paying attention to him.

Changbin was on the phone, loudly screaming some business-sounding stuff down the microphone whilst Seungmin sat in the back of the car out of the rain.

He tried not to eavesdrop in on his conversation when he slipped out of the car, but his voice echoed throughout the street; he really did have an overbearing presence about him.

“I don’t care, it’s practically _my company_ at this point and if I say I can’t come in, then I’m not coming in. No—? No! Are you kidding me?! Jeongin’s missing, how could you even _suggest_ that I could come into office?! He shouted down the phone, his face reddening in his anger. “I don’t care Dad, this is my fucking son! Your grandson, remember?!”

Jisung considered back when he first met Minho, he’d told him that through all of Changbin’s weaknesses, Minho never doubted him as a Dad for one moment, and he could see why. 

Jisung may not like the way he performed around him, and the power he once had over Minho, but he wouldn’t deny the inevitable – he was just as scared for Jeongin as Jisung was for Felix, he could see it in his expressions.

He saw Changbin hang up the phone, tapping at the screen frantically whilst shaking his head, his ears bright red from the shouting match he’d just had, with his own Dad, apparently.

As he looked up, he caught Jisung’s eye, stopping him in his tracks suddenly.

He thought about it for a moment, summoning a little courage to speak to him.

“I’ve looked around their usual spots; the pool, the parks, the woodlands where Felix likes to picnic. Minho said he was getting an update soon, so he was going to keep me informed. Any luck with where you were looking?”

“Why are you talking to me?” Changbin spat back, glancing up at him before looking back down to his phone.

“I—I just thought we should, you know. Try and work together? Seeing as we’re both trying to—”

“Oh, so should I consider this a _bonding experience?_ ” He retorted, slipping his phone in to his pants pocket.

“That’s not what I meant—”

“You’re _fucking my ex-husband_ and now your kids’ somehow convinced mine to run away! Yeah, let’s work together, huh?” He spat, his words dripping with sarcasm.

“Look, please, my son is missing too, I hate this. I’m in pieces, I don’t want to argue with you at a time like this.” Jisung said; he was totally exasperated.

“ _You._ Ever since you came into the picture everything fucked up. I lost Minho and now I’ve lost my son, how can you even fucking _stand there_ and look me in the eye after everything you’ve put me through?” He said, moving hastily towards him much more abruptly than Jisung was prepared for.

“Changbin, look. I don’t know what to say to make things better, but I never meant to hurt you, I don’t even _know_ you! But, I just… I mean, we’re not just…” He mulled over the words for a moment, contemplating if what he was about to say would make the situation much, much worse, or not... “—I’m in love with him. This isn’t some dumb fling, or whatever. I really care about him and we're in this for the long haul... And your sons. They’re great kids—”

“Oh? You’re in love with him, huh?” Changbin mocked, dragging his lower lip through his teeth. “Yeah, well guess what; I was in love with him too; I still am, and I probably always fucking will be. But it doesn’t matter, because it looks like you won.”

“This isn’t about winning, but I’m sorry that you feel that—"

“Don’t you _dare_ fucking apologise to me. You’ve said sorry enough. Why don’t you ever stand up for yourself? What does Minho even see in you?!” Changbin screamed, raking his eyes over the younger man. “What the hell do you even have that I don’t?” He saw Changbin’s hand shaking, twisting his fingers under themselves, bringing his hand to a fist.

“I’m not going to fight you, Changbin, if that’s what you think...” Jisung retorted with faked composure, feeling that Changbin was getting slightly too animated for his liking.

“Why not?!” Changbin shoved him backwards with the palms of his hand against his chest. “Come on! Why not?!”

It suddenly felt like déjà vu.

He’d been shoved around a lot, recently…

“I’m—”

Another push.

“Fight me! Do it, fucking hit me!” He screamed in Jisung’s face. “Or is fucking up my life hurting me enough for you, huh? You prefer emotionally wrecking me, instead?!”

 _Another_ push.

He saw Seungmin’s head poke up at the back window at the sudden bustle, then the sound of the car door being pulled on frantically as he tried to get out.

The child locks were obviously on, so he started pounding on the window with his little balled up fist.

Jisung could hear the muffled sound of him yelling ‘ _Dad, stop it!”_ through the thick, tinted glass, making Changbin suddenly look back to him, taking a step away from Jisung as soon as he saw Seungmin watching.

It was like he’d forgotten what he was doing in that moment; like he was a totally different person. 

Jisung considered there was no way he would hurt him _for real_ in front of Seungmin, if Minho were right about him being a decent Dad and if the events in the living room earlier were anything to go by.

Jisung stepped backwards defensively, looking around the street.

A couple of older neighbours who weren’t at work were peering their heads out of their windowpanes and their front doors, watching as the commotion unfolded, as usual.

This road had always revelled in gossip, but it felt hardly like this was worth it, now.

He saw Ms. Park shake her head from side-to-side out of her bedroom window as she puffed on her cigarette; it was like a silent warning telling him to _not retaliate_ , to not let it get to him.

He exhaled.

“I’ve hit one person in my life, Changbin, and that was someone who spoke badly of my son.” He pointed to the tiny scar on the right of his lip from before, which still hadn’t totally healed. “Trust me, I’d do anything to get him and Jeongin back. I’m not going to fight you, and I know you’re not going to hit me in front of Seungmin.”

Changbin glanced back to Seungmin in the back of the car again, the young boys’ eyes looking desperate and terrified as he mouthed ‘ _please don’t’_ through the window.

“I’m sorry about you and Minho, but you weren’t right for each other. I’m sorry that it happened the way it did, but there’s nothing I can do here to make the pain go away.” He finished.

Jisung couldn’t describe what he was feeling, it was partially fear; that something _feral_ would snap in the older man like earlier, forcing his fight-or-flight, foregoing Seungmin’s feelings and lunging at him without warning.

It was partially melancholy, knowing that he’d so badly impacted Changbin’s life, even if it wasn’t purposefully – he’d never been particularly fond of the man even from their first encounter, but it didn’t mean he hated him, and it certainly didn’t mean he was out to ruin him.

The last thing he was feeling was simply exhaustion. He’d been driving around for hours and hours, emotionally volatile and terrified of what the hell he could do to make this day end and have Felix back in his arms.

He could tell Changbin couldn’t handle any more either.

“This isn’t about me and Minho right now. Please, I just want my son back...” He said, choking up a little at the end of his sentence.

The older man looked at him, his eyes becoming tearful again in solidarity, as he ran his hand through his hair.

He placed his hand on the window against Seungmin’s, relaxing his arm and nodding at him as if to tell him that it was _going to be okay_ , the younger boy looked at him with such a sense of relief.

Suddenly, Jisung’s phone rang from his back pocket.

He scrambled for it, unlocking it, and seeing Minho’s name appear across the screen.

“Minho, hello?” He answered, listening in to the sound of traffic heavily filling up the air space between the call.

Changbin turned his head back at the sound of Minho’s name, quirking an eyebrow.

“You _have_?! Oh my God, oh my God. Yes— Yes! Well, are they okay?!" Jisung screamed down the phone, quickly looking back to Changbin, the other man’s eyes widening as soon as he realised.

“What?! Has he found them?” Changbin questioned. He rushed over to him, edging his ear closer to Jisung’s phone; Jisung turned it to loudspeaker so that Changbin could hear Minho, too.

"They're at the diner..." Minho said, letting out a deep breath.

"The diner?!" Jisung said, “But the Police said they’d looked there! That’s the _first_ place they’d be!”

“Well, it seems like they were _trying_ to get to the diner, but they got lost in one of the industrial estates out the back. Felix said they left at 3:00am – _‘The witching hour’_ … They were only gone around an hour before you even realised. If we’d left down the main road straight away this morning, we probably would’ve found them, but I told you to check around the neighbourhood first…” He sighed.

“Hey, it’s not your fault. You had Seungmin at home and it was dark, anyway. Don’t start blaming yourself, now. All that matters is that they’re there!” Jisung said, thanking the stars above that they weren’t actually out all night.

"The owner recognised them as he was driving in to open the restaurant and contacted the Police himself. He even had your name from the booking references from how often we eat there.” Minho replied. “He’s let them sit in and eat and stuff, they’ve been there about an hour.” 

“Oh, thank God.”

He saw Changbin throw his head back in relief, taking a few steps back towards the car and immediately heading towards the back-passenger door, pulling it open to give Seungmin the good news.

Seungmin launched himself out of the car, throwing himself in to his Dad’s arms, smiling brightly through tearful eyes.

He scooped him up out of the car, wrapping him around his chest in his arms, one hand around his back and one clutching at the back of his head as Seungmin wrapped his legs around him and nuzzled his head in to his neck.

“I’m on my way to get them now. Where are you, what’s all that noise?” Minho said.

“It was busy around the school areas, so we took a rest break. I’m outside your house… With Seungmin, and Changbin.”

“W-with Changbin?”

“Yeah.” He stammered, still watching Changbin gripping on to Seungmin like his entire world depended on him.

“Wow. Are you okay?”

Jisung turned his phone back off of loudspeaker, pulling it back to his ear.

“Yeah, I’m— I think, we’re fine.”

“Okay, stay put. You’re on speaker in the car. I’m driving there now; I’ll be maybe thirty minutes. Stay at yours, okay?”

“Sure, see you in a bit!” He said, hanging up the phone, a sigh of relief escaping his lips.

He let Changbin and Seungmin have their moment with each other for a while, before he started to speak again.

“Do you… Do you want to wait at mine for them to get back? It’s raining and Minho won’t be back for thirty minutes. It’s quite cold out.”

“I can handle it. It’s just rain.” Changbin retorted. 

“It’s cold, Dad.” Seungmin said. “I don’t want to wait in the car!” Seungmin whined, looking up at him through big dopey eyes, clinging to his side.

“Okay, well, the offer is there if you want. I don’t mind.”

“We would love to, Mr Jisung.” Seungmin said, tugging on his Dad’s wrist to pull him forward.

 **9:27am** **🐿️---**

Changbin sat in the middle space of his black leather couch, totally failing to hide his _curiosity_ at the little nick-nacks and trinkets scattered around his living room, most of which, Felix had made.

He peered around, glancing at the little pictures of them all, barely holding in his scowls. He wondered if Changbin was as much of a neat freak as Minho was.

He knew Changbin had money by the way he presented himself, so he considered maybe Changbin had a cleaner, or something.

He had Seungmin perched on his knee, his arms wrapped around his stomach whilst Seungmin leaned back into the space between his arm and chest, tapping away at a game he was playing on the pink smartphone he and Jeongin shared.

Jisung walked through from the kitchen, awkwardly rubbing his palms on the front of his jeans, trying to work out how the hell he got himself in the position where he was trying to be hospitable to his _boyfriend’s ex-husband._

“Um, do you want me to turn the thermostat up, or… Everyone warm enough?” He asked.

No response from Changbin, who simply looked up at him, then back down to watch Seungmin’s screen.

“I’m warm enough, thank you Mr. Jisung!” Seungmin responded to him, in English.

“Do you want a drink? Coffee, or a water or something?” Jisung asked, still trying to fill the awkward void.

He didn’t particularly know why he was trying so hard.

“I’m fine.” Changbin responded, Jisung barely even able to hear him through the sound of the water finally boiling in the kitchen.

“Seungmin? How about you?”

“Can I have grape juice?” He said, looking up from his phone, tilting his head to the side like a tiny puppy, eyes scrunching up into his cheeks.

“Of course! One second, Bud.” He slunk back into the kitchen, letting out such an uncomfortable breath that he’d been holding in ever since he got in the house.

He poured himself some instant coffee; it wasn’t up to his usual standards, but any caffeine was welcomed at this point.

He opened the refrigerator, too, instinctively pulling out two grape juices and a watermelon-pineapple juice, before he even realised what he was doing.

He walked back through to the living room, handing Seungmin his juice which was welcomed with more little English phrases that Changbin looked confused at. He placed his phone aside and proceeded to drink it, the sound of slurping somewhat filling the awkward silence between them all as Jisung settled on the other couch.

“Did your kid draw that?” Changbin suddenly asked, staring at the picture of Minho’s cats that was pinned to Felix’s little magnet board easel in the corner of the room.

“Oh, yeah. He really loves drawing.” Jisung responded, a little surprise to his voice.

“How old is he, Jeongin’s age?”

“Yeah, well, a little older. He’s 8, but he’s loved drawing since he was able to hold a crayon.”

“Felix is really good. He drew me and Jeongin once when we were playing the piano here the other week. He even drew the piano.” Seungmin said, in between sips.

“You’re playing the piano again, Seung?” Changbin asked inquisitively. “I thought you gave up playing?”

“Since I’ve stopped playing in the baseball games I can practice more, same with my singing.”

Changbin nodded, slipping his bottom lip in between his teeth, a slightly remorseful look washing over him as if he felt like that was something he should have already known.

“You should’ve said. If you want a new piano, I can get you one for your room… Your room at _my house_. If you start coming over, again.”

“Yeah, maybe. But it’s okay, Dad. Mr. Jisung moved his piano to our house so me and Jeongin can practice more. He is a teacher, and he is good at instruments, so I learn from him, I guess.”

Jisung felt like he was intruding on a father-son moment as Changbin looked back towards him, his eyes slightly squinted.

Jisung suddenly heard the sound of cars pulling up outside his house, the slight screech of wheels.

He shot up to his feet, peering out of the front window, Changbin and Seungmin getting up in tandem.

It was Minho’s car pulled up outside, with a police car following closely behind.

He watched as Minho stepped out of the driver’s side, totally dishevelled, immediately heading around to get the boys out of the back. He unclipped Jeongin and then travelled around the other side to get Felix out.

As soon as he saw the tiniest _flash_ of blonde hair, Jisung could feel his heart beating so hard in his chest it was causing him _physical_ pain.

He sprinted out of the living room, into the hallway, grabbing his parka off the hook and swinging it over his head haphazardly.

His hands were shaking so violently he struggled to even get the chain off of the front door, fumbling with it for a while.

He finally managed it, swinging the door open and basically tumbling down the first few front steps down to his front yard.

He saw Felix standing there in the middle of the path, gripping on Jeongin’s new artic fox in front of him whilst draped in a foil, thermal blanket.

His entire face was puffy and swollen, his eyes scarlet and painful-looking like he’d been rubbing at them for hours, with a little barbeque sauce smeared across his cheek.

Perched on top of his head, was a little sailor hat, with red and white stripes on one side, and white stars on a blue background on the other. 

As soon as he saw Jisung’s face, his lip started trembling and he erupted into tears, his tiny body giving way under him, as he collapsed down on the sidewalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the babiessss they're back!!!
> 
> also seungbin soulmates confirmed so this reunion had to happen
> 
> https://twitter.com/YfwbbS🌻


	24. For The Love O' God, Peace!

**Thursday, 10:24am** **🐱** \---

"Felix, anything could have happened to you! What the hell were you thinking!?" Jisung said, rushing across to cradle Felix in his arms as he lay on the path; Minho could see him slumped down across the concrete sobbing harder than he’d ever seen another child sob. He dragged Jeongin out of the car seat, also weeping into his fox plushie ever since Minho first saw him.

He scooped him up, draping the younger boy over his shoulder as he clasped on to him tightly, ducking his head out of the car, protecting his skull with his own palm placed gently over the top of his head. He could see Changbin and Seungmin appearing from behind Jisung, the latter of whom, started frantically running down the path. Minho wandered over to where Felix was, meeting them all in the middle.

"Jeongin!" Changbin called out, power-walking across the yard. Minho allowed him to wrap his arms around them both, as Minho wasn't exactly ready to let go of him yet, or, _ever_. Seungmin joined in too, wrapping his arms around all three of them. They huddled in a little quad for a moment as a family, all crying together. 

"Are you hurt? Look at me." Changbin fussed, cupping his cheeks in both hands, using his thumbs to rub at the tears before patting his little body down to check for any injuries. He breathed a sigh of relief, pulling his head into his chest, crossing of his arms around him. "Jeongin, don't you ever do that, ever again. I was so worried about you!"

"I'm so sorry Jeongie! I didn't mean to make you run away! I didn't mean to make you upset!" Seungmin stammered through his tears, rubbing at his own eyes, too, as he clung on to the younger boys back from behind, nuzzling his cheek near his shoulder above his rucksack. "I don't think you're a baby!"

Jeongin hadn't actually said anything yet; he was totally drained, struggling to get the words out. When Minho found him at the diner he'd already been out for hours in the dark. The idea of it shook Minho to the core, his heart ached at the idea that he and Felix were outside in the rain, alone.

The young boy started sniffling, trying to stifle his tears, choking out a small _'I'm sorry, Dad'_ to Changbin, then another one to Minho, before starting to softly cry again. He pouted his lip out, his lids heavy with exhaustion.

"We should get him inside. Changbin can you take him through to mine? Take my keys, Seung. I need to speak to the Police, okay?" Minho said, stroking at his hair. Seungmin nodded at him, looking up through his big dopey, tearful eyes and Changbin nodded in confirmation too, gladly accepting Jeongin into his arms, the younger boy wrapping his limbs around his broad back to feel the heat radiating off of his body compared to how cold he was. They headed across the road to Minho’s, Changbin bowing to the Police officer and speaking to him briefly before he continued on.

"I'm sorry Daddy! I'm sorry Minho! I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean it! I didn't me-aan it!" Felix sobbed, his mouth wide open and his entire body deadweight against the floor. He was totally soaked from head to toe, shaking in the sharp breeze. Every time Jisung went to grab him he just rolled out of his arms, like he couldn't grip on to anything; his head just lulled around for a little while.

Jisung scooped him up in both hands bridal style, the only way he could manage to. Felix was bawling so loudly the entire neighbourhood was watching in awe at his guilt-ridden tantrum; Minho cooing and shushing at him to settle him down, gripping one of his hands in to his own to share some heat between them.

"Felix, we're going to talk about this later on, but right now, we need to get you in the house, okay? You need to stop screaming." Jisung said, looking at him straight on whilst the boy flashed him the saddest puppy-dog eyes. The way Jisung spoke; it was more resolutely than Minho imagined he would, there was a little bit of fire behind his expression.

 **10:46am** **🐱** \---

Minho finally thanked the Police officers for their help searching before bowing them out of the front door. Changbin and Jisung were awkwardly perched at either side of the living room, presumably trying to place themselves as far away from each other as they could physically be, although Jisung had assured him that he’d tried to talk to him to somewhat ease the tension between them, earlier. Minho locked the door, turning back to look at the three tiny boys all sitting on the couch anxiously.

Minho had given the two youngest a couple of blue hoodies and some clean socks to change in to whilst their own clothes were hanging up to dry. He’d lit up the fire, filling the room with a cosy warmth that honestly just made everyone feel even more sleepy than they all already were. Felix was sitting at the side closest to Jisung with a little pout on his face, stroking the suede-esque material of the arm rest backwards and forwards, trying to avoid any kind of eye-contact with any of the adults in the room. Seungmin and Jeongin were both sitting more attentively, legs pressed tightly together as they held each other’s hand.

“Now, I think we all know what needs to be said here, don’t we boys?” Minho said, throwing his hands on his hips and strolling towards them from the hallway.

“Jeongin, no matter what Seungmin said to you; what you did was not _grown up_ , it was silly and very, _very_ dangerous.” He said assertively, locking eyes with the youngest, who nodded back at him. “And Seung, I want you to make sure that you never make fun of your brother again. It’s not kind and it obviously upset him.” Minho said, totally exasperated.

“Okay, I promise.” Seungmin said, nodding in affirmation. 

“Jeongin, I mean it. Do you understand?” Minho asked, dipping his head, and widening his eyes, waiting for a response.

“Yes Daddy…” He said quietly, looking up through his still heavy-with-rainwater bangs.

“Just because you get upset at your brother it doesn’t mean you do stupid things like running away. Any stranger could have found you and picked you up, or you could have gotten yourself or Felix very hurt in the dark! It was really, really stupid!” Minho said, making the younger boys lip quiver. He really didn’t want to shout, or lose his nerve and make Jeongin cry again, but he was so overwhelmed with frustration and fear. All he could think about was _what if_? What if something _had_ happened, all for the sake of some stupid name-calling?

“I’m sorry. I was sad so I was trying to prove that I can be tough. I promise Daddy, I won’t ever do that again. It was scary in the dark.” He said.

“I’m really sorry I made you sad, Jeongie. Please don’t ever run away again. I was so worried about you.” Seungmin said, turning back to him and holding his arms out expectantly, to summon Jeongin into a hug, which the youngest accepted with a melancholic smile. Usually, the boys weren’t particularly the type to show this much affection, but Minho considered that after the emotional beating they’d both taken, they might feel a little differently after this…

“Seung if you were upset at me, you should have said something rather than taking it out on your brother.” Changbin interrupted from across the room, arms firmly across his chest leaning against the bookcase.

“I thought I made it obvious…” Seungmin retorted. 

“That’s not good enough, Seung. You need to tell me if you’re feeling left out. You know I love you both, more than anything. I don’t love one of you more than the other.”

Seungmin simply nodded, dropping his head down in embarrassment.

“If you don’t want to play baseball anymore, that’s fine by me. I just want you to do what makes you happy, and if that’s piano, or singing, or whatever. I don’t really know why you thought I’d be upset about it…” He said, shaking his head from side-to-side.

“You’re proud of me, when I play baseball, Dad…”

“I’m _always_ proud of you, no matter what you do, Seung.” Changbin interjected.

“And you?” Jisung added, drawing attention to the other side of the room, placing his hand on his hips. “What’s gotten into you that you’d do something like this, Lixie?”

"I don't want to talk anymore…" Felix said, in a little huff, rubbing at his eyes. “I’m tired. I just want to go to sleep, now.”

"No, actually Felix, you're talking and you're talking now. I'm telling you to tell me what made you do this; it's not a question anymore." Jisung said, firmly. Felix looked back up to him, slightly surprised that Jisung was so assertive with him. Usually Jisung was a bit of a soft touch, he tended to let Felix get away with quite a lot, but he certainly wasn’t budging, this time.

“I just…!” The freckled boy started, perking his head up suddenly. “I don’t want to go back to school until I move class! I don’t like it there and I just want to move already! Now they say that I’m a baby because I am moving class! They don’t stop! They never stop!” He fretted.

“Felix, that’s ridiculous. It doesn’t matter what they say—”

“If it doesn’t matter what they say then why does it make my feelings hurt?” He shouted, eyes suddenly brimming with tears. “You say it doesn’t matter, but it matters to me because it makes me really sad in my heart even if I ignore it like you say!” He stood up; his hands curled up tightly in to fists beside him. Jisung watched him for a moment, not saying anything, a sorrowful expression overcoming him as he saw how disheartened the freckled blonde was.

“I promise you, Felix, we will do whatever we can to get you moved out of that class as fast as possible, okay?” Minho interjected calmly, coming to kneel in front of him. Felix unclenched his fists, turning back to look to Minho as he released some of the tension in his shoulders.

“Really?”

“Really. We promise, don’t we Jisung?” Minho said, spurring the other man on.

“Of course. I didn’t know you were so upset about this Lixie. You keep hiding it from me. You told Minho, but you didn’t ever tell me what was going on until it was too late. I’m your Dad Felix, you need to speak to me...” Jisung said sympathetically, making his way across to perch on the armrest and hold his hands out to invite him back across.

Felix grabbed at both hands, allowing himself to be pulled back towards the couch again, sitting against the back with his feet sticking off the edge. He rested his head against Jisung’s thigh, wrapping his right arm around it to nuzzle into him.

“I know… I’m sorry… For everything.” Felix sighed.

“How many times have I said we need to tell each other when we are not very happy or if we have had a bad day?” Jisung said, gently placing his hands against Felix’s cheeks to guide his face back to look at him.

“Twenty-thousand and twelve times…” Felix answered begrudgingly, pouting at him.

“Twenty-thousand and _thirteen_ , now…”

 **11:37am** **🐱** \---

Minho stirred at the hot chocolate he was preparing for the boys for when they woke up from their nap, whipping it heavily to try and get it as thick as possible. He meandered over to the other side, pouring himself and Jisung a rather large cup of black coffee each. Minho thanked his lucky stars that his ‘ _World’s Best Nag’_ mug was supersized…

“I’m going to take the day off tomorrow, to go into Felix’s class before school starts and explain what’s happened.” Jisung said, leaning against the counter island. “I figure they’ll realise how serious it is, that way.”

“Great idea. I’ll come, too.” Minho said, casually scooping out one sugar and stirring it into his coffee.

“What?” Jisung said.

“I said, I’ll come too. I want Felix to be moved now, I can’t handle him being upset and you know if _I_ ask it’ll get figured out quicker. I can visit Ms, Park later today, if she hasn’t… Got someone round.” Minho passed Jisung his coffee across, wincing at the connotations, the other man accepting it by the handle. “Careful, it’s hot.”

“You’d take the day off of work? But what about all that overtime you’re doing? Won’t they need you?”

“Felix is more important to me than overtime, Jisung.” He scoffed. “Plus, honestly I’m exhausted. I might even let the boys skip, tomorrow...”

“Wow… Minho, that’s so unlike you.”

“You keep saying that! I always put what’s important, first, Jisung. You should know that, at least.” Minho chuckled. 

“Thank you.” Jisung said. He smiled at him softly, before reaching across to pry Minho’s coffee out of his hand, leaving Minho looking a little perplexed. Jisung placed it carefully down on the table, before taking one of the older man’s hands in to his own instead, rubbing over his knuckles with his thumb. He brought his other hand up to cup Minho’s cheek, guiding him in closer to plant a chaste kiss on his lips.

As he pulled back, their eyes laid lingering on each other’s for a brief moment whilst they simply linked their fingertips, Minho taking in the ever familiar smell of coconut, sans acrylic paint.

“I’m so glad I have you, now.” Jisung uttered.

“I’m going to head back home now, Minho. Dad’s insisting I go back in to office for this aftern—” Changbin said, appearing from the hall, stunting slightly when he saw them both. Minho immediately unlatched their fingers, mostly in alarm rather than anything else. He couldn’t lie about the nature of his relationship with Jisung, but at the same time, he didn’t want to rub salt in the wound, either. He saw Changbin’s eyes flicker downwards to their hands for a brief moment.

“Sure. Yeah that’s fine. I’m going to keep them off school for the rest of today and tomorrow just so that they can get some rest and stuff.” Minho replied. “Thank you for helping search for them, Changbin.”

“Well, they’re my boys…” Changbin replied, a little aggression in his tone. “Also, Seung’s going to come over this weekend, too...”

“That’s great, Changbin, I’m really glad.” Minho said, softly, feeling a little tender.

“We’re going to get a piano so he can practice, and stuff, as that’s what he wants to focus on...”

“That’s sweet of you.”

“And I’m going to come to the talent show final the week after, Seung wants me to be there...”

Minho just smiled at him and nodded along to everything he said.

“Well. Alright. I’ll see you next week then, I guess...” He scoffed as he turned heel to exit, a thick layer of awkwardness filling the room. Minho knew he had to say something, he couldn’t just leave it this tense forever.

“Changbin, wait...” Minho said, reaching his hand out. “Jisung, can we just have a second alone?” He turned to look at Jisung directly head on, their eyes locked for a fleeting moment, and he felt a welcomed sense of relief. There was no feeling of uncertainty, no unease about the two of them being left alone together. Jisung could tell Minho was securely his now, and as he stared in to those huge, genuine eyes, he knew without hesitation, that he’d made the right choice.

“Sure, of course, Minho.” He replied sweetly.

Jisung took his and Minho’s coffees by the handles, slipping them in between his fingers on one hand. Then he grabbed the other three, linking them awkwardly in the other hand so that he had to angle his body so he didn’t spill them. It looked absurd, but Minho assumed he wanted to make only one trip to save the awkwardness of having to come back through the kitchen again…

“See you around, Changbin.” He gave a slight bow to Changbin as he exited, heading down the hall towards the living room where the boys were napping on the couches.

“Don’t forget to use coasters!” Minho shouted after him, poking his head out of the doorway before he saw Jisung nodding.

Minho turned back around to see Changbin leaning against the counter, gnawing at his bottom lip. His hands gripped on to the marble tightly, as he glanced back to look at him. He really did look physically and mentally drained.

"Changbin, look, I know… I know, what I did… It’s… I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I just…” Minho faltered; he didn’t even really know where to begin. There were a million words circling around his subconscious and he was sure that the _last thing_ Changbin wanted to hear was him apologise again, but he needed to, for his own sanity.

“I’m just, so sorry.”

“Minho. I know what you’re going to say, so you might as well stop there. I’m not going to forgive you straight away, and I know it's going to take adjustment so we can remain civil in front of the boys. You did a shitty thing, but I guess, I kind of brought it on myself, too by keeping our act up too long. Nothing you can say to me will justify what you did, but I guess deep down I knew what was going to happen. We both knew.”

“Changbin, I _really_ didn’t mean it to end the way it did, not after all we’ve been through.” Minho pleaded.

“You broke my heart, twice, Minho. _Twice._ ” His head slumped down, his neck craned over top of his chest as he let out a faint, pitiful laugh. “Why did I let you do that? Am I that stupid?”

“Please, hate me for as long as you need to. Curse me out, whatever you need. Whatever makes you start to feel okay aga—”

"—And for how long? Until I just _'get over you'_ completely?" Changbin responded.

Minho looked back up to him with a sorrowful expression on his face, followed by a deafening silence between them. Minho perched against the other side of the counter; he heard the younger man exhale before finally speaking again.

"I guess it's just weird for me, to think of you as being anyone else’s’ but mine, I guess.” Changbin said. “You’ve been mine, and only mine, for so long.”

“Okay firstly, I belong to myself, thanks…” Minho said, his words laced with the slightest tinge of humorous, passive aggressive-ness, scoring to a little snort from Changbin. “And secondly, I know, it’s going to take some time. You’re such a huge part of my life Changbin and I’m sure that’s not going to change. Honestly. I don’t think I could say I would even be the same person that I am right now if I hadn’t been with you. I’m sure once things slip back into a normal routine again, we can at least, may be work towards being… Friends, or whatever? I don’t know.”

Changbin groaned, throwing his head backwards, looking at the ceiling, grimacing at the choice of words Minho had used. He even found _himself_ internally cringing, too.

"I want to be happy for you, I really do, but those feelings don't just disappear. We were together for _six years_ Minho, and whatever was happening between us afterwards had been happening for years, too. I mean, we have two amazing kids together, it's not just a case of _'ignore it and it'll go away'_. I think I'll always love you, at least a little bit...” He heard Changbin’s voice crack just slightly as he spoke towards the end of his sentence, it was enough for Minho to feel his lip tense slightly, then a slight pressure just behind his eyes.

Minho nodded the tears back. He knew exactly what Changbin was saying, because he felt it, too. In fact he felt some sense of relief knowing that Changbin felt the same way. Whatever they once had, it would always be a turning point for Minho, and he knew how much being with Changbin had shaped his life. Changbin had dedicated so much time to him and brought about the best things that could have possibly happened to him; Seungmin and Jeongin. He felt so much remorse for the man in front of him for what he'd done, but he knew now; he needed to close that chapter and move forward. It would be better for everyone, including Changbin too, if they could both move on and find other people to devote their time to.

That being said, Jisung was perfect, unprecedently and unequivocally, perfect. He was the perfect level of chaos to his mundanity. He was the slight danger to his comfort zone. For once in many, many years, he'd fallen for someone who complimented him so well and made him feel so special; like he deserved to be cherished rather than challenged, and he wasn’t about to let it slip away now.

"I'll always love you too, Changbin, but as the Dad of my boys.” He cupped Changbin's cheek in his left hand, making the other man let out a faint, solemn smile. “And you really are the best Dad, much better than I am.”

"Ain’t that the truth.” Changbin said, dryly. “I'm still pissed at you though... I can’t just pretend like I’m not.” Changbin scoffed, brushing Minho’s hand away.

"That's totally fair." Minho chuckled in response. "I respect your decision to be pissed at me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> next up we're heading to seungie's talent show uwu  
> i wonder which kid he's competing against hmm
> 
> thank you to everyone for reading and honestly thank you so much for all the interactions this fic has had. it really makes me want to continue writing! <3


	25. If Music Be The Food Of Love, Play On

**Friday, 5:49pm** **🐿️---**

It was drawing in to closing time.

Jisung had a free last period, so spent the time to slip in to some comfortable clothes without the faculty even realising that he was somewhat slacking off.

Most of the teachers at Jisung’s school would stay a little later, finishing up their lesson plans and maybe doing a little paper grading, if they had some time at the end of the day.

It was a lot easier for Jisung to stay late and grade these days, knowing that all three of the boys were happily cared for at After School Club.

Though, on this particular date, it was Seungmin’s talent show night, so he was going to meet Minho and the boys at the elementary school, instead.

It was only situated across the road, luckily, so he figured he might as well head straight there.

"Jisung, with all due respect, and I mean, I don't have a lot for you, but regardless..." Hyunjin said, shoving his file into his pristine, tan, leather satchel as Jisung unceremoniously rolled his eyes at him.

"Uh...?"

"…Why do _I_ have to sit through a kid's school talent show?” He sighed. “Don't I spend enough time around kids here at work…? Why would you think I want to spend more time listening to noise on a Friday night?"

Hyunjin tutted, trying to organise his lesson plans neatly into a pile before the substitute Saturday tutor ruined his _weirdly artistic_ classroom.

It was adorned with whacky ‘shock-art’ pieces where the kids’ work display boards should be, with bust statues and various potted houseplants dotted around.

Even his _classroom_ was aesthetic... Weirdly, it worked.

The only thing to even indicate that it was a classroom at all, was the whiteboard and the wooden desk at the front, filled with cute cards that students had given him.

Hyunjin would usually roll his eyes at those kinds of tokens of affection, but Jisung absolutely loved it when kids gave him cards, not that it happened as often as it did with Hyunjin…

"Jinnie, they're 8-year olds, they're not like your students. You don’t even need to change; your regular work clothes are more fashionable than my out-of-work clothes!” He pleaded, knowing that Hyunjin reacted _exceptionally well_ and _particularly ungraciously_ to compliments. “I told Minho that I'd go and watch Seung perform in the finals of his talent show as I missed his semi-final because Minho and I weren't speaking at the time. I promised him, come on…”

"Okay, that's great and all. Wow, okay, you're the best, wow. Truly, what a martyr, Jisung. But again; what the heck does that have to do with me?" He snorted, pulling his satchel over his shoulder, and clutching at his laptop bag from under his desk, slipping his Chromebook into it.

"Hyunjin, you’re a theatre teacher! Aren’t you meant to love the arts?! Come on, it’s literally across the road! Have you got a date, or something?"

"Maybe..." He retorted, eyes darting around the room and his lip curling up at the edges into a little smirk.

"Hyunjin..."

"Look, he said he'd pay for dinner and I told him there was this _Andersson Bell_ jacket that I wanted and he kind of has the money to buy it for me…"

“Right. Okay. So, what’s his name, then?” Jisung pried, cocking an eyebrow, leaning against his desk with both palms flat across it.

Hyunjin’s eyes suddenly filled with alarm, he looked around the room, his eyes squinting a little bit as he tried to recall.

“Uh… I think it’s Seojun… Or maybe—"

"You're embarrassing. Come on.” Jisung said, grabbing him by his forearm and tugging him across to the door. “Maybe you'll score yourself some hot Dad, or something?"

"Ew, you think I'd end up with someone with kids. Gross.” Hyunjin replied, words coated with pure disgust whilst he fake-gagged.

"Gee, thanks?"

“Well, you know Felix is the only exception…!”

 **6:18pm** **🐿️---**

The elementary school auditorium was strangely modern compared to how awfully out-of-date the adjacent high school’s décor was.

The room was spacious and totally monochrome; the walls being a muted grey and the accented features such as the covings and skirting boards being painted matte, black.

At the front, a large, illuminated, polished black stage with a timber podium up front for the speaker.

The only splash of color were the kids’ drawings that were mounted on some of the display boards, which looked like they doubled-up as sound proofing.

Just beyond the stage were four rows of child-sized chairs either side of the centre walkway, where all the other kids in the school were seated in their uniforms straight from class.

At the back, were tiered rows of fold-away auditorium chairs that had been brought down, littered with parents who were buzzing with pride to see their little cherubs perform.

It was obviously newly renovated, as Jisung could smell the subtle _paint aroma_ , which he was totally used to, by this point, after having lived with Felix for eight years.

Jisung and Hyunjin sauntered through the main entrance doors and walked up the steps, a few heads turning as they did, which Hyunjin totally lapped up.

He figured the candyfloss pink hair, was a bit of a tell.

Jisung watched as he threw both hands through his hair and _almost seductively_ rubbed at his neck just under his Burberry-patterned turtleneck as he ascended the stairs, tossing his brown leather jacket over his shoulder…

They sat eight rows back, as Jisung didn’t really know a lot of the other parents at the school, and Hyunjin didn’t know anyone at all – not that it would stop him striking up a conversation if necessary.

They’d also arrived quite late, so it was already fairly full by the time they’d arrived.

He caught sight of two cute, little, smiling faces turning around in the front rows, looking around for him in the crowd.

As soon as Felix saw Jisung's face, the blonde stood up, kneeling one leg up on his chair, waving his arm frantically from side to side with a big smile on his face whilst he mouthed hello to them.

A pinafore-adorned girl with straight black bangs next to him also shyly waved, and Jeongin followed suit too, who was sitting on the other side of him.

“Hi Lixie!” Hyunjin cooed, his face melting at the sight of Felix in his uniform and his little green _frog-print_ bucket hat encasing his slightly-curled blonde locks.

"The other boy, that’s Minho's son, that's Jeongin." Jisung stage-whispered, proudly nudging Hyunjin as he settled back into his chair. “Isn’t he so cute?”

"Okay, so, whatever. He's _kind of_ cute..." Hyunjin tutted, waving at him too. "Only kind of, it doesn't mean I'd want one, though."

He fluttered his fingertips at the young boy, mouthing 'Hi!" at him.

Jeongin looked back with a slightly confused little head-tilt at Jisung, as if to ask, ‘ _who the heck is this guy with the pink hair that’s smiling at me like a crazy person?’_

"Jisung!" He heard a hushed, slightly puzzled voice say.

"Minho!” Jisung echoed, leaning upwards out of his chair like a meerkat. “Over here!”

Minho was ascending the stairs too, in his black duffle coat over top of his regular work attire, looking like he'd just run a half-marathon, a part of his bangs stuck to his forehead a little.

He slipped through the rows of people, apologising, and bowing, trying to manoeuvre his hips around the other parents’ knees as he made his way to the chair Jisung had saved for him.

He waved at a few of the baseball wine-Moms, who immediately looked to him, then to Jisung with grins on their faces, some of them even looked a little shocked.

It made Jisung feel super self-conscious until he heard one of them say “ _Wow, Minho! Good for you!”_ Throwing her hand over her mouth in astonishment as the others congratulated him.

 _A welcome boost to his ego_ , he thought.

"I made good time, I rushed here straight after work. My boss let me leave off _on time_ , for once!" He said, peeling the coat off and placing it over the back of the chair.

"Ooh, Minho you look so good in a suit and tie. You look expensive." Hyunjin laughed, perching forward in his chair, and giving him an ungracious up-and-down.

"Hey Hyunjin, long time no see. I don't think I've seen you since you nearly ripped my door off in your drunken stupor." Minho said dryly.

He settled into his chair, exhaling finally, and resting his hand lightly on Jisung’s thigh just above his knee.

Jisung smiled at him, flicking his bangs back to their regularly scheduled position with his finger tips.

"Yeah, about that night..." Hyunjin said awkwardly, comedically pulling at his collar, the memories, or non-memories, as they may be, coming back to him suddenly.

"Don't apologise Hyunjin, your outburst strangely, actually helped me and Jisung work things out."

"Oh, yeah... I heard you certainly _'worked things out'_ , that night, huh?"

He leaned forward in his chair, placing his elbows on his knees to rest his chin on his interlocked fingers, grinning directly at Minho, giving him the most _telling_ look of all time.

Minho's ears suddenly went crimson, his eyes widening in sheer horror as he slowly turned back towards Jisung, his mouth agape in shock.

“You told…?!” He suddenly squeezed down on Jisung’s thigh, digging his nails in to his pants.

"Oh, would you look at that! The stage lights are coming up! Yay, Seungmin!" Jisung shouted, suddenly standing to his feet, and clapping his hands together.

As if by a perfect stroke of luck, the general lightning _actually_ dimmed, and the stage lights suddenly kicked in, washing over the stage.

All the other parents stood up too, perfectly masking his embarrassment.

Jisung considered he was probably never going to hear the end of that when he got back to Minho’s...

 **6:25pm** **🐱---**

They all had to sit through some generic speech from Mr. Park; the school’s Principle and Ms. Park’s _‘official’_ , husband. Minho couldn’t really work out how much older he was than her, but if he were to put a morbid estimation on it, he’d reckon the man was probably one cough away from kicking the hypothetical bucket…

He babbled on about the school generally, then how important it was for children to express themselves, finally he laid out the schedule for the evening. All of the kids were quiet and respectful when he spoke, so he considered he was probably a pleasant enough man, even though Minho was totally over listening to him _just talk_ for fifteen minutes with his fly undone...

As the first set of kids whirled and twirled out on to stage, the crowd became a little more animated, suddenly camera flashes going off and proud Mom’s pointing out their _precious angels_ and telling the other parents how _hard they’d worked on their act!_ He found himself grimacing a lot, as did Hyunjin. Jisung had to keep furiously defending all of the kids; he was definitely the purest soul Minho had ever met.

“Oh, he’s so cute! Look at how much he just loves playing that recorder!” Jisung cooed to him quietly, gripping at his arm and pouting, flashing him Felix-level puppy dog eyes. Hyunjin and Minho looked straight across to each other, flashing each other _knowing scowls_ from either side of him at the feeling of their eardrums being violated.

They sat through two ballet presentations, one mini magic show, a three-kid performance of the _Spongebob Squarepants_ theme tune complimented with what Minho could only refer to as a ‘contempory dance’, and two singing performances – both of which were nowhere near Seungmin’s level, if he did say so himself…

Finally, it came to Seungmin’s time to perform and Minho felt like he’d aged a decade by the time he appeared. As soon as his name was announced, he confidently strolled out on to the stage, adorned with a cute, crisp white shirt and light-washed jeans. He had a powder-blue cropped jumper on, and a little fuzzy white beret that he’d borrowed from Felix to finish off ‘the look’. Minho was about to internally combust at how cute and smiley he looked; he actually felt himself welling up at just the sight of him looking like he was in his element.

"Go Seungmin!" A little female voice shouted from the front row. There was a large gaggle of neatly-uniformed schoolgirls with their black locks neatly tucked away in ponytails squealing at him, clapping their hands together. He smiled at them as he looked over the audience, throwing out a little peace sign before getting up to the microphone.

"Wow, Seungmin's kind of a big deal at this school huh? Looks like he's a bit of a lady killer! If he comes first, he might just win himself a little girlfriend!" Jisung joked, elbowing Minho in the ribs.

"Don't ever talk about that, Jisung. He is 9. Nine years old. Besides, even when he's 13, or 16, or 21, he's not dating. Ever." Minho said, shaking his head. "In fact, not until he's 40." Minho retorted, shaking his head from side to side.

Seungmin decided to sing _You Were Beautiful,_ by _Day6_ , which Minho only knew the name of because he literally played it non-stop in the car. As soon as he heard his little voice, Minho automatically choked up, as did Jisung to his side. He was pitch-perfect from the start, even when he was nervous and a little shaky. As the song went on, he settled out of his nerves, and began to add some dramatic hand movements and little steps to his performance.

His voice was utterly angelic.

Suddenly, before he even knew it Minho was crying...

“Oh my God, you guys…” Hyunjin said, shaking his head from side-to-side, laughing at them both.

Jisung rested his head gently against his shoulder, holding his hand to his chest, brimming with just as much pride, whilst watching him hit some pretty impressive high notes. Minho discreetly dabbed at his tears with the back of his hand, trying not to rub at his eyes too obviously. He’d heard Seungmin sing a thousand times, but this was a different level. His whole demeanour was so different on stage and Minho couldn’t help but watch in awe.

As soon as the performance was over, the first two people that stood up to clap were Jeongin and Felix, prompting the rest of the row to arise, giving him a standing ovation, which was the first of the night. Seungmin was beaming from the stage, giving little bows out in each direction with the widest grin Minho had ever seen on him, he even threw a couple of flying kisses out to the front few rows, scoring some serious giggles and charisma points from the judges. 

He was the third-from-last participant, and considering the crowd’s reaction to his performance, Minho thought he definitely had a high chance of winning. The next act was a tiny younger girl with two braids resting either side of her shoulders with little round spectacles. She was maybe even younger than Jeongin, playing a harp; somewhat decently, too. Although she wasn’t half bad, Minho would have no choice but to aggressively refute the idea of anyone possibly beating Seungmin out at this point, and there was only one other performer.

 _It's not the winning, but the taking part, that counts,_ Minho reminded himself.

Minho and Hyunjin groaned once again, sinking back into their chairs as it was announced that the last performance of the night, would be a rock and roll drumkit solo…

 **7:05pm** **🐿️---**

Jisung couldn't believe it.

The boy on the drumkit was Jaehyun; the boy who'd been relentlessly bullying Felix before he moved class.

The worst part was, all the kids around were raucously cheering for him, especially the older boys at the back of the rows, seemingly louder than any of the previous cheers.

As soon as he walked out on stage, Jisung felt himself tense up, and his eyes immediately darted back across to Felix, who was whispering something to Jeongin.

Luckily, he still seemed in good spirits, and clapped along with everyone else, even if he probably didn’t want to.

He’d moved class last week, so he was generally feeling a lot better about his previous situation, these days.

He even saw the burly Dad that had hit him from before a few rows ahead.

He was obnoxiously standing in the middle of the audience, blocking the view of the people behind, so that he could take a video recording of him, whooping and shouting his name.

The drum solo was, in Jisung’s admittedly biased mind, awful, and Minho had to discreetly pull his duffle coat up past his ears to block out some of the noise, whilst Hyunjin just opted to stick his fingers in his ears, totally unashamedly.

The boy thrashed around on the kit a bit, Jisung wincing as he did. His hair was spiked up off of his face and sprayed red and yellow, for whatever reason.

As he left the stage, the boy walked down the steps and high-fived a few of the other boys, but not Felix or Jeongin.

It made Jisung unnecessarily irritated, even though he’d probably prefer it if that kid literally never went anywhere near Felix, again.

It was announced that there would be a fifteen-minute intermission after he was finished, so that parents could stretch their legs or go to the bathroom whilst the judges decided on the winner, which all three of them welcomed. 

The whole room started buzzing with the sound of idle chit-chat from the kids and the adults, and Hyunjin was scanning around the room for any signs of attractive lifeforms whilst Minho slipped out to the bathroom, greeting tons of parents as he did.

“This sucks, Sung. All of these stuck-up Dads are grotesque or very obviously hetero judging by the serious lack of taste in this room.” He huffed, slinking back to look at his phone, searching for someone to take him out afterwards... “What a waste of time.”

All of the parents wandered around, mingling with each other, and Jisung had to awkwardly greet some of the parents that Minho knew from the teacher’s board on his own, as they introduced themselves to him.

A large percentage of it was simply “ _Oh, you’re Minho’s new partner, aren’t you_?!” Most of them simply congratulating them on their relationship and telling him how much _“Minho deserves to find himself someone special!”_

The others tried to coax some light conversation out of him, but ultimately ended up ogling Hyunjin the entire time.

One of the women even recognised him as the ‘ _Attractive Drama Teacher from the High School’_ and insisted that her son wasn’t so great at drama these days, so maybe he needed to come over and give her son some tutoring at their house?

The women around these parts really were rather questionable, in Jisung’s opinion…

To make matters worse, Changbin suddenly rocked up out of nowhere, appearing from the other side of the steps, dripping in a full Prada ensemble, sending Jisung in to a bit of a panic.

He strolled up the steps with a water bottle in hand, black cap, black boots, and a black t-shirt that was maddeningly form-fitting, and Jisung couldn’t even lie about how good he looked.

He’d even accentuated the outfit with a massive white-gold watch and chain hanging around his neck that probably weighed as much as Jisung did.

It was the first time he’d seen him in a couple of weeks, but he did think that maybe enough time had passed for Changbin to not _totally_ hate him after their previous encounter; with any luck they could be civil to each other now after he and Minho smoothed things over between them.

Minho appeared at the bottom of the stairs, and passed him on the way up, giving him a smile as he did and then stopping to chat to him for a little while.

Jisung couldn’t hear anything through the muffled chorus of the audience, but it didn’t seem too awkward between them, to Jisung’s relief.

He considered that maybe he was just so overjoyed after watching Seungmin’s show-stopping performance that he couldn’t pretend to be his usually cool, edgy self.

In another situation it may have been different, but for now, the storm had seemed to have settled.

Changbin suddenly looked up, perching his hand over top of his cap to pull it down to block the lights over the audience.

He clocked Jisung, and _almost_ smiled, giving him a little half-salute. 

Jisung waved back, somewhat confused.

Honestly, he'd take it.

It was way better than being slammed up against a wall, anyway.

Well, unless it was Minho...

Minho gave him a reaffirming squeeze on the forearm before slinking back up the stairs to re-join them. 

“Wow, how much do you think those Prada boots cost, huh?” Hyunjin said, suddenly re-animated at the sight of him, and slinking down into his chair to whisper to Jisung. “Enough to earn a night with me?” He joked, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

“What’s this about a night with you?” Minho questioned, appearing back in their row, and sliding back across to his seat. “Don’t even try it Hyunjin, it took me ages to finally lock Jisung down, I’m not ready for a ménage-a-trois just yet...” He teased quietly, making Hyunjin snort a little too loudly.

It really meant a lot to Jisung how naturally well Minho got on with his friends, he only wished Chan could’ve been there, too.

The audience settled down again as the sound of a microphone tapping echoed through the room. Mr. Park appeared back on the stage, slowly making his way out to the podium.

He had a little, silver envelope in his hand, which he wiggled around above his head, making some of the school kids whoop and cheer in their seats.

They had to sit through another speech about how hard the kids had been working for this evening and how proud all the parents should be, and Jisung was totally in awe of all of the kids and how talented they were.

Most of them were super cute, it almost made Jisung want another.

But that was a thought for a different time…

Mr. Park cleared his throat, slicking back his questionable tuft of grey hair before opening it, the sound of a tinny, drum-roll.mp3 track playing out of the speakers.

Jisung saw the burly Dad from before rise up out of his chair to prematurely clap for his son.

“And the winner is…!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> uwu
> 
> this was going to be one long part with the reaction to the winner, but it was getting SO long that i decided to split it in to two parts lmao
> 
> (also i was made to work on my day off today and my cat has been missing for three days so i'm just generally sad sad and i didn't really feel like writing too much more! sorry about that :( )
> 
> enough of my moping, hope you all enjoyed me fleshing out hyunjin's character for literally no reason (dot dot dot) and this general little slice of fluff!
> 
> thank you for reading as always and stay safe x
> 
> https://twitter.com/YfwbbS 🌻


	26. But That’s All One, Our Play Is Done

**Friday, 7:49pm** **🐿️---**

_“Superstar… Seungmin!”_

Minho dived up out of his chair as soon as Seungmin was announced as the winner of the competition, his fold up seat clapping back together behind him as he bounced on the spot a few times.

He followed the older man’s lead, clapping excitedly as Seungmin was whisked out on to stage.

Minho looked so besotted with him, he could feel the pride radiating off of his body watching Seungmin smiling and waving to the audience. 

Mr. Park shimmied across the stage to his side, handing him over a little silver, jewel-encrusted scepter, and placing a sash that had a giant #1 on it, over his head and settling it across his chest.

From the school kids, he could hear the girls screaming fanatically and Felix and Jeongin starting a chant of ‘ _Seungmin, Seungmin!_ ’ from the front row, to which the rest of the line also rose to their feet and joined in. 

The Dad from before awkwardly looked around to see how many people had seen his embarrassing premature display, his _presumed_ -Wife tugging him back down to his chair, utterly mortified.

As he turned around, he clocked Jisung for just a split second, before Jisung darted his eyes back to look at the stage; he wasn’t sure if the man had noticed him but he didn’t dwell on it too long.

This was Seungmin’s moment.

No one was going to ruin that.

 **8:15pm** **🐱---**

The parents whose kids had competed in the competition headed to the back entrance to collect them from the backstage area, where they were all huddled and playing around whilst getting their things together.

Some of the kids were playing on their phones and some helping their parents clear up their stage makeup that had been scattered across the tables. The whole place was alive, and numerous kids from various age groups and classes were surrounding Seungmin, congratulating him on his win.

All four of them headed in, Minho, Jisung, Changbin and even Hyunjin, who decided to loiter at the door seeing as he didn’t have any actual relation to any of the kids in the backstage area. Luckily for him, one of the female teaching assistants recognised him from the high school so chatted to him whilst they headed across to collect Seungmin.

“Seung, congratulations! You were incredible!” Minho said, engulfing his head in his arms, pulling him in tightly against his chest. Jisung bundled over too, wrapping his arms around him, and jiggling around.

“Really?” He asked, eyes wide and sparkling.

“Totally. You really are so talented!” Jisung added. “You’ve gotten so, so good, Bud!” He and Jisung started their signature little handshake before tumbling into each other’s arms again at the end.

“Seung, I can’t believe you hid this kind of talent for so long.” Changbin said, appearing from the side-lines, smiling at him. He reached both hands out to summon him across.

“I guess I was just scared that you thought singing wasn’t cool, Dad.” Seungmin replied, reaching his arms out to accept Changbin’s embrace. He lifted him off the ground, spinning him around in his arms and catching him at his hip like he usually did with Jeongin. Minho could tell that he was definitely heavier than Jeongin was, but Changbin didn’t falter once; he could tell he was really trying to be more affectionate.

“Hey, don’t be ridiculous. You’re _more than_ cool.”

“Dad, don’t embarrass me!” He mouthed, pushing back against his arms out of his hold, dropping back down to his feet and smoothing his sweater back down. He looked around at some of the girls who were across the way, a little flushed.

For once, Changbin was the embarrassing Dad, it felt kind of like a strange _victory_ to Minho…

As soon as Seungmin landed, he was _absorbed_ by Jeongin and Felix, who were squeezing him so tightly Minho was sure that Seungmin, too, would end up smelling like acrylic paint by the end of the night.

“You were amazing Seungmin!” Felix shouted, bouncing all three of them up and down.

“You need to teach me to sing like you!” Jeongin followed up.

“I’m so proud of you Seung. I’ll let you choose where we go for family dinner night next, okay? We can have as much as you want.” Minho cooed, moving his hand upwards his hair off of his forehead. “Boys, can you give me and Seung a moment?” Minho asked.

Felix and Jeongin looked to each other and nodded, before waddling back across to Jisung who’d started gathering all of their school bags and uniform pieces from the dressing tables. Minho took Seungmin by the hands and wandered to the side of the large room, lowering his voice, and kneeling down to his height. He suddenly felt more sentimental than he’d felt in a really long time.

“Seung, I know the last few months have been a bit tricky, but I’m _so_ proud of you. You really were amazing out there, tonight.”

“Thanks Dad. I’m sorry I have been a bit, different, lately.”

“It’s okay, you were having a tough time and you were just working out who you are! You’re so grown up for not letting any of the bad stuff get to you, Seung.” Minho beamed, shaking his little hands up-and-down. “Here, have this. This was from your Dad, but I think you should have it, instead. It’s you and Jeongin, see?”

He handed across the little white box containing the necklace that Changbin had given him a few months back. He immediately opened it, lifting the thin chain from the box in awe. The locket was far too valuable and luxurious to simply throw away, but the thought returning to Changbin would’ve brought back some troubling memories that he’d rather leave behind, now. He was sure that Changbin would be more than happy for Seungmin to have it.

“It looks expensive.”

“It is Seungie, it’s priceless. Just like you are.” He gave him another hug, a little longer this time, Seungmin’s nose deeply nuzzling into his shoulder, his tiny hands squeezing together behind him like he didn’t want to let go. “Come on, let’s get your things together. It’s a _big sleepover_ , kind of night.”

He patted the boy on the back in the direction of his bag and the rest of the family, watching him with such a proud smile on his face that he couldn’t even hide how emotional he was being; Jisung had really started to rub off on him…

Suddenly, through all the hustle and bustle of the room, Minho heard the sound of someone talking behind him, a gruff voice that was so obnoxious that Minho couldn’t help but pick up what he was saying.

“My son was robbed. You saw how much the other kids loved him, he looked like a rockstar out there…! The kid in the _fluffy cardigan_ and the _beret_ singing fairy songs gets first place? Pah, what a joke. This world’s gone mad…”

“Excuse me?” Minho said, immediately turning around into the conversation, raising his voice so the other man could hear him. “I’d think you’d be doing yourself a favor by not insulting my son?”

Jisung instinctively grabbed Seungmin’s hand, pulling him behind him as soon as he saw who he was talking to.

“Oh look, you’re his Dad, huh? Why am I not surprised?” The man chuckled, looking Minho up and down before his eyes trailed behind him to meet Jisung’s. “Oh look, it’s this guy again! Funny, I didn’t recognise you without a fat lip. It’s okay, bet your little boyfriend over here kissed it better though, right?” He taunted, pointing at the older man.

“Yes. Actually, I did.” Minho said, cocking his head a little and looking back to Jisung. He’d suddenly realised just who this man was. The idea of knowing the person that scarred Jisung’s lip was standing in front of him lit a fire in the pit of his stomach.

“Ergh, I don’t want to know—” The man said, looking back across to his equally unattractive friend, scoffing.

“No, you don’t want to know anything about things you simply can’t comprehend, because your brain is utterly void of any synapses.” Minho retorted; words as sharp as ever.

“The fuck?—”

“Listen here, you Neanderthal. I’m on the board at this school, so if I were you, I’d take your sixteenth-century moral breadth and your _rapidly_ deteriorating hairline and keep your primate children away from my kids. That goes for the little blonde one, too.” He said, pointing across to Felix who was rummaging through the props and costumes box, marvelling at a sequined cloak.

“What the hell did you just say to me?!” The man suddenly boomed, everyone in the room turning around to look at him, including some of the kids; Felix and Jeongin included.

“I called you a Neanderthal. They were the _primitive beings_ that existed before humans evolved basic cognitive function. I’m surprised you didn’t know, considering that’s the time period you’re apparently still living in…”

“Who does this guy think he is?” He man said, laughing to his other simpleton pal.

“And so help me God, if you ever lay a finger on someone in my family again—”

“Oh yeah? And what?” He said, trying to intimidate Minho by taking a step towards him.

He didn’t move, he didn’t even flinch. Jisung immediately stepped closer to him, pushing Seungmin even further back and grabbing at his arm. Before he could say anything else, another voice interjected, calmly.

“What he said was, _back the hell up,_ before you get yourself _seriously_ hurt.” Changbin suddenly said through gritted teeth, trying to keep his voice down a little in front of the children. He positioned his arm in front of Minho and Jisung, placing a palm against the guy’s chest to try and settle him. Changbin wasn’t the tallest guy, but he had a lot of mass, he certainly had an aura about him that tended to make other men back down; not that Minho couldn’t handle himself.

Suddenly, it was a three against two, making the other man simmer down. One of the male teaching assistants also suddenly turned up at the door; one of Minho’s board acquaintances likely tipping him off. He moved towards them, clapping his hands to break it up.

There were numerous sets of eyes on the man now, and all of the other parents looked appalled at his behaviour, some of them moving their kids out of earshot and whispering amongst themselves. His wife looked mortified too, gathering their four rowdy boys together and ushering them all out of the door, her face turning maroon as she left.

“I hope your son learns some tolerance at some point in his life. It’s clear it’s not a trait that he’s going to inherit from you.” Minho said calmly, removing Changbin’s arm from in front of him. He watched as the other man jeered at him.

“Okay, okay! I think it’s probably time that we got ourselves home, folks!” The other female teacher next to Hyunjin said, trying to settle the atmosphere, causing most of the parents to shimmy across to the exit.

“Wow, that was super impressive.” Hyunjin suddenly said, casually pressing his body in between Changbin’s and Minho’s, forcing himself in between to separate them.

“Oh, it’s nothing. Can’t have people like that making a scene like that when there’s kids around.” Changbin scoffed, shaking his head from side to side with his arms crossed tightly across himself.

“I totally agree, it’s despicable. I love kids, they’re so great. I’m actually a teacher, myself.” Hyunjin said excitedly, slipping his arm through Changbin’s crossed ones, forcing their arms to interlink. Changbin simply looked down in total confusion as Hyunjin squeezed a little harder. 

“Uh. Yeah, well, me too. I have two sons...” He said, looking back towards them before he was _unceremoniously_ yanked back forwards to look at Hyunjin.

“I bet they’re adorable, _Mr_ …? Sorry, I didn’t get your name?”

“Oh, it’s Seo. Seo Changbin.” Changbin stuttered in response, obviously taken aback by how close Hyunjin was to him without any kind of formal introduction.

“ _Seo Changbin_ … Hwang Hyunjin, so nice to meet you.” he said, smiling. “Wow, is that watch you’re wearing a _Chaumet_? It’s beautiful… Wow, that must’ve cost you a lot, I bet?”

“Well, yeah, it’s one-of-a-kind, really…”

“Wow, what a coincidence. So am I…”

Without any warning, Hyunjin successfully crept Changbin out of the conversation, latching himself against his bicep and dragging him across to the door, giving Jisung a wicked look that seemed to scream ‘ _you’re welcome_!’, followed by a little wink. Minho laughed at them, looking at how much taller Hyunjin was as they exited. He knew he and Changbin were on fairly decent terms now, but he appreciated Hyunjin trying to detract him away from Jisung if it meant he didn’t have to feel uncomfortable around him unnecessarily.

“Wow, Minho that was…” Jisung said, exhaling.

“So unlike me? So uptight of me?” He mocked.

“I was going to say… Kind of _hot_ , actually, but each to their own.” Jisung joked, under his breath. “Plus, you called me your _family_? Wow, you really are becoming a bit of a sap.” Jisung said, smiling dumbly at him.

“You _are_ my family, so is Felix.” He said, looking across to the three boys who were now standing patiently waiting to go, still a little taken aback by the commotion moments earlier. He stared in amazement them for a moment, before checking that everyone had everything together before they headed off, he counted:

One Avengers rucksack, one very-grown-up satchel, a pastel pink rucksack, two blue lunch boxes, a purple lunch bag, one orange fox plushie, one white and blue snow fox plushie, one pink smartphone, one tablet and three twigs that had been dipped in different colored glitter.

 **Saturday, 8:43am** **🐿️---**

For the first time, Jisung awoke to the sweet, delicate smell of vanilla; he'd awoken next to Minho.

It was the first night they’d officially spent together openly with the boys knowing, and it was perfect.

Minho had insisted he and Felix stayed over after the talent show, seeing as Felix was falling asleep in the car, anyway.

Plus, it was becoming near impossible to separate the boys without tears, these days.

Nothing particularly _debaucherous_ happened, they simply cuddled up together properly for the first time, revelling in each other’s bodies for an open and _non-interrupted_ period of time.

Though that didn’t stop Jisung joking about how they could’ve _actually_ spent time performing out scenes from Minho’s ‘unread’ erotic novels...

He was just as content, either way. 

All of the boys had fallen asleep in their own beds, and guest blow-up bed on Jeongin’s floor, respectively, meaning Minho and Jisung had simply been able to eat their own dinner and relax for the night, opting to head up to bed early.

Jisung felt like a total sap, staring lovingly into the older man’s eyes as they faced each other in bed, Minho had to keep telling him to ‘ _stop being so gross all the time’_ , but he couldn’t help it.

He was totally mesmerised by him; the way his cupid’s bow was so sharp and precise, the sleek slope of his nose, the vanilla smell radiating off him now that they were both warm and wrapped around each other.

Only once were they interrupted, and it was simply by Dori wailing at the door to demand to sleep on the foot of their bed.

He perched himself up by his elbows, smiling fondly at the older man as he slept, his mouth a little bit open.

It felt like it was early, so he reached across to grab his phone to check the time.

There was a message from Hyunjin in their regular group chat from last night, sent at 10:28pm.

* * *

**The boys!**

Me, .Chris.  🐺, Hyunjinnie  🦙

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

i think I;’m oging to go out, out tonight

as its friiuday

whereh r you guys at?

 **.Chris.  ** ** 🐺: **

Wow, how on Earth do you manage to get that bad by 10:30pm?! x

Look after yourself, Hyunjin! >.< x

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

Teheheheheh met someobne whos buying

So easyyyyy

I’;l’ be good!

love oyuguys so so much xxx

So, I’m guessing from your messages…

You went

‘Out out’ last night?

How’d you get rid of Changbin?

And where’d you head to, you animal?

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

nooooo…?

maybe i was just really tired and headed home after the show?!

Okay so

I’ll ask again

Where did you go last night? 😅

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

(kay so i ended up at caramel bar, shut up it’s fun)

if i hooked up with someone last night

would you be mad?

Why would we be mad, that’s standard practice for you?

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

ignoring that

hypothetically

what if I said

the weird thing is….

oh god I can’t even say it…

we…

Is everything okay…?

Did something bad happen?

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

yes…

Hyunjin?

Omg do I need to call you?!

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

we…

we cuddled

after

omg i feel weird

Omg you idiot!

I thought you’d gotten hurt or something!!

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

i did

i hurt my pride

severely

it’s irreparable

You’re such a moron.

@ **.Chris.** **🐺** Help me out here, tell Hyunjin he’s an idiot. Where you at?

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

and what if i said

i maybe

i want to…

See Him Again?

oh god i gagged

Wait, WHAT?

I just literally stumbled as I was walking

Are you sure you’re feeling okay?

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

i mean obviously i play it cool right?

tell him that there’s absolutely no way in hell i’d want to be with him in any way, shape or form and that he’s totally disgusting and not my type??

insult him a little obvs!!

ha ha ha help me

So romantic Jin, I better start writing my best man speech?

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

no no no

it’ll never get that far

i have to go i’m still at his house

asdkj

IT’S 9AM AND YOU’RE STILL THERE?!

 ** Hyunjinnie  ** ** 🦙: **

HE’S WAKING UP

BYE

* * *

Jisung pocketed his phone and made his way down the stairs in to the kitchen to pour himself some liquid caffeine, trying to regain some energy.

He stared at the newly acquired family portrait that Felix had positioned in the middle of the refrigerator, he really was so talented.

He made his way through the hall, trying to keep the noise down so that he didn’t wake the boys up earlier than necessary - having them sleep in was a blessing.

Unlocking the door, he finally waltzed out on to the veranda, it was still darkish out, considering the late season sunrise.

He swung the guitar he’d been keeping at Minho’s over his back, inhaling the midwinter air.

The breeze was cool, but it was refreshing enough so that he could feel his body finally waking up.

He started humming a melody, tapping away at the side of his guitar quietly, glancing around to check if any neighbours were watching, luckily today, no one seemed that interested.

Funnily enough, no one had really seemed that interested since everyone on the street found out that he and Minho were an item.

 _Strange coincidence_ , he thought.

“Mmm. I love it when you sing.” Minho hummed, leaning out of the door, eyes closed loosely as he absorbed Jisung’s sweet high notes. “Maybe you should’ve competed in the talent show…”

He took a few steps outside, wrapping his arms tightly around himself to secure the fluffy blue bathrobe that he’d indefinitely borrowed from Jisung.

He hadn’t even bothered putting shoes on, the cold sting of the painted wood below him making him hiss a little bit.

“I’d never have won against Seungmin, though, he’s just too good.” Jisung replied. “Plus, I do try whenever I can, but it’s been a little cold out. Plus, between you and me, I only used to sing out here to impress _you_ …” Jisung said, looking back at him with a playful smile on his face.

“That’s, disgusting…”

“—ly adorable…?” Jisung finished, grinning from ear-to-ear.

Minho kneeled down behind him, slipping his legs around Jisung’s back, pulling him in tight against his chest and wrapping his arms across his stomach.

He placed his chin over Jisung’s shoulder, content with listening to him a little while longer, even if it was pretty cold out.

They swayed a little bit from side to side, moving in tandem as gently as the breeze.

“How did you sleep?” Jisung hummed.

“The best I’ve ever slept. My body usually wakes me up at 6am, so it’s a welcome change.”

“I’ll try not to get too used to it; your bed is so much comfier than mine. I’ll be here every night and you won’t be able get rid of me.” Jisung laughed.

“That wouldn’t be so bad...” Minho hummed, closing his eyes, totally immersed. “By the way, I booked a week off, in the holidays, like you said. I figured maybe we could all do something. Take the boys somewhere nice, together?”

“You really do need a vacation. You work so hard.” Jisung said, letting his head rest against Minho’s gently, moving with his gentle rocking motion again. 

“Everyone does, it’ll be nice just to get away somewhere.” Minho said, pulling away just slightly to tilt his head to plant a gentle kiss to his soft cheek.

“It doesn’t matter where it is, as long as we’re together, like this.” Jisung said, turning back to him, smiling.

“That’s… God, that’s... That’s _really_ pushing my boundaries, you know that?” Minho laughed, pulling back from him with a scowl across his face.

“Oh, shut up.” Jisung said, swatting at his arm, then gripping at both of his wrists behind him to wrap his arms back around his stomach firmly.

They watched as the sky transition from a milky blue to a soft, baby pink, the winter sun finally rearing its head, casting most of the houses across the street in shadow.

It was serene, until Jisung’s eye was caught by a little moving _something_ , just off in his periphery.

“Is someone climbing down Ms. Parks’ guttering?” Minho asked, pointing in that same direction, causing Jisung to flick his eyes across.

“Yeah… It looks like, there’s someone… _Escaping_ … Out of her window…” Jisung said, holding his hand across his forehead and squinting through the darkness to try and bring his eyes to focus.

In front of him was definitely a man, a fairly muscular looking man dressed in a semi-see through pink robe with pink fluffy edging. 

“Honestly… How does she do it?” Minho said, totally impressed.

The blur of pink fluff scuttled down the pipe, landing very ungraciously in one of Ms. Park’s flowerbeds with a _thud_ , totally destroying the winter jasmines that were neatly assembled in rows that grew there.

Not that she tended to them herself; she had a guy for that.

She actually had a guy for, well, everything…

“Oh my God… is that?” Minho said, squinting his eyes. “It can’t be...”

They both stared for a moment.

"Chan?!"

**Sunday, 5:51pm**

**🐱🐿️🐶🧙🦊---**

“I want prawn crackers!”

“Felix, you always get prawn crackers, I’m not going to forget!” Jisung scoffed, shaking his head from side to side, tapping away at his phone.

“Well one time you did!” Felix huffed, dramatically throwing his arms around himself with a little pout on his face as he stood up on the couch, resulting in Minho giving him ‘ _the look’_ that made him immediately drop back to his butt.

“One time in three years is fine, Lix, give me a break!” Jisung chuckled. The young boy broke character and start giggling and curling up into his side, wrapping his fingers around his arm.

“Jeongin, do you want to help set the table?” Minho asked from the other couch, Seungmin’s head firmly on his lap as he watched his tablet, dangling it over his face, watching another _Day6_ performance that he’d probably seen over thirty times already.

“Okay!” He said, pushing himself up on to his knees from where he was lying flat on his stomach on the floor where he and Felix had been drawing, earlier.

“I don’t mind helping, Dad.” Seungmin interjected, pulling his tablet away from his face to look up at him through his spectacles.

“It’s okay Seungie, you are watching your thingie. I’ll help, instead. I can do it, I’m grown up enough.” Jeongin replied, politely smiling at him.

“Jeongin, at the Weasley’s the table makes itself with magic and stuff!” Felix said, waving Wanda 2.0 around his head. “Plus, all the cleaning gets done automagically too, so we won’t have to wash up after either!”

“Ah. The table. That reminds me.” Jisung said, snapping his fingers. “Look what I got!”

He jumped up from the seat with a sudden burst of energy and paced across out of the room for a moment into the hallway, then swung back in with a rather self-assured looking expression. He pulled out a cardboard box, removing the clear wrapping off from around it.

“I got some coasters, for my house.” He said, smugly, holding them up in front of him. He was presenting them like they were some prize from a quiz show, or something, making all the boys giggle. “Kind of an in-joke, right…?”

“Wow. The table is complete. A truly historic day.” Minho said sarcastically, looking back to the TV and shaking his head from side-to-side, pushing his fingers through Seungmin’s bangs.

“That’s all you’re going to say?! You’ve been on my case about it ever since we met!”

“They don’t even match any of the other placemats or even the tablecloth at your house, Jisung.”

“It’s the thought that counts…” He grumbled, heading across to the other couch where the older man was, and slumping down on it, looking mopey and slightly annoyed.

“You’re honestly as bad as the kids.” The older man scoffed, turning back to him to plant a small peck on his pouted lip.

“Eurgh, come on!” Seungmin said, pulling up off of his lap, his brows furrowing. “Not in front of _Wonpil_ Dad, you’re so gross...” He shifted his body over, as far away from them as he could.

“Can I feed the cats?!” Felix asked, bumbling across to him to kneel on the floor in front of him, slumping down on Minho’s lap. “It’s time to feed the cats! Please, please, please!” He repeated, over and over, pulling at him.

“Of course, Felix, just be careful and don’t make a mess.” Minho responded.

Felix had become enormously attached to Minho’s cats, he’d even started dressing them up in a little purple ‘cat sweater’ that he’d made out of an old bedsheet, a shoelace, and some scissor holes. To his surprise, Dori didn’t even seem too opposed to it.

“I will, Minho! Thank you!” He beamed, his freckles on his cheeks rising with the huge smile appearing across his face. He headed out to the hallway, before peeping his head back in the doorway to hold his hand out for Jeongin’s, who accepted it, and followed him through to the kitchenette.

“Actually, I’ll help too, I don’t want to see this.” Seungmin said, shaking his head and tutting at them both, sliding off the couch and tucking his tablet under his arm. “Grown-up time is so weird.” He said, slipping out, putting his headphones in.

Minho let out a laugh he’d been stifling as soon as the boys left, nuzzling his head in to Jisung’s arm, prompting him to wrap his arm around him. Minho settled lower into the comfortable space between his shoulder and chest, re-arranging himself so that he could _finally relax._

“You know, they cancelled that Police show we watch, after _fourteen_ seasons.” Jisung said, letting out a little fake cry and poking Minho’s cheek. “What are we going to do?!”

“Thank God, that show was awful.” Minho said. “Plus, it’s okay, I have my own criminal, right here.” He patted the centre of his chest, looking back up to him mischievously.

“Oh, come on! It was _one_ fight, and I was in there for less than six hours!” He whined, throwing his head back. “Plus, I think you hurt that dude more than I did, just with words alone.”

“Yeah, it’s a gift.” 

Suddenly, there was a loud screech, followed by what sounded like cutlery being dropped down to the tiled floor in the kitchen. It startled them both, each of them jumping to their feet. Within seconds, all three boys were screaming and scrambling around, bashing into cabinets, and knocking things over. Just to top it off, Minho heard what sounded like his brand-new vase, filled with white lilies, baby’s breath _and one single bright red rose_ that Jisung obnoxiously set in the middle of the bouquet, shattering…

“Minho! Dori cat has a bird!” Felix screamed, the sound of flapping becoming increasingly apparent. Though he didn’t know if it was the boys, or the bird.

“Well, so much for relaxing.” Minho sighed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whewww!
> 
> what a ride! i'm lowkey kind of emotional about this ending! thank you all so much for finishing this hefty ol' fic! it's been a bit of a journey and i hope this last chapter is some welcome fluff for those of you like me who like a happy ending/epilogue!
> 
> Thank you so much for the hits and kudos, and most importantly - the comments. everyone has been so friendly and supportive, i'm really, really grateful to everyone who's been interested in reading my stories and i will be continuing as i'm really enjoying myself. thanks to everyone that's interacted on twitter (@YfwbbS) too, really makes my day!! 
> 
> If you want to find out what happened to Changbin and Hyunjin, maybe head on over to [HERE](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27199772) ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
> 
> [Christmas Special🎄](https://https://archiveofourown.org/works/28326570)


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